Legal provisions of COM(2017)536 - Regulation to amend the regulations on EU supervisory bodies on banking, insurance and pensions and markets and securities, and various regulations on financial instruments - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
dossier | COM(2017)536 - Regulation to amend the regulations on EU supervisory bodies on banking, insurance and pensions and markets and securities, ... |
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document | COM(2017)536 ![]() |
date | December 18, 2019 |
Contents
- Article 1 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010
- Article 2 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010
- Article 3 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010
- Article 4 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 600/2014
- Article 5 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2016/1011
- Section 1 - Competences and procedures
- Section 2 - Administrative sanctions and other administrative measures
- Section 3 - Procedures and review
- Section 4 - Fees and delegation
- Article 6 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2015/847
- Article 7 - Entry into force and entry into application
Article 1 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010
(1) | Article 1 is amended as follows:
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(2) | Article 2 is amended as follows:
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(3) | Article 3 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 3 Accountability of the Authorities 1. The Authorities referred to in points (a) to (d) of Article 2(2) shall be accountable to the European Parliament and to the Council. The European Central Bank shall be accountable to the European Parliament and to the Council with regard to the exercise of the supervisory tasks conferred on it by Regulation (EU) No 1024/2013 in accordance with that Regulation. 2. In accordance with Article 226 TFEU, the Authority shall fully cooperate with the European Parliament during any investigation carried out under that Article. 3. The Board of Supervisors shall adopt an annual report on the activities of the Authority, including on the performance of the Chairperson’s duties, and shall, by 15 June each year, transmit that report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission, to the Court of Auditors and to the European Economic and Social Committee. The report shall be made public. 4. At the request of the European Parliament, the Chairperson shall participate in a hearing before the European Parliament on the performance of the Authority. A hearing shall take place at least annually. The Chairperson shall make a statement before the European Parliament and answer any questions from its members, whenever so requested. 5. The Chairperson shall report in writing on the activities of the Authority to the European Parliament when requested and at least 15 days before making the statement referred to in paragraph 4. 6. In addition to the information referred to in Articles 11 to 18 and Articles 20 and 33, the report shall also include any relevant information requested by the European Parliament on an ad hoc basis. 7. The Authority shall reply orally or in writing to any question addressed to it by the European Parliament or by the Council within five weeks of its receipt. 8. Upon request, the Chairperson shall hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair, Vice-Chairs and Coordinators of the competent committee of the European Parliament. All participants shall respect the requirements of professional secrecy. 9. Without prejudice to its confidentiality obligations stemming from participation in international fora, the Authority shall inform the European Parliament upon request about its contribution to a united, common, consistent and effective representation of the Union’s interests in such international fora.’; |
(4) | Article 4 is amended as follows:
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(5) | Article 8 is amended as follows:
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(6) | Article 9 is amended as follows:
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(7) | the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 9a Special tasks related to preventing and countering money laundering and terrorist financing 1. The Authority shall, within its respective competences, take a leading, coordinating and monitoring role in promoting integrity, transparency and security in the financial system by means of adopting measures to prevent and counter money laundering and terrorist financing in that system. In line with the principle of proportionality, those measures shall not exceed what is necessary to achieve the objectives of this Regulation and of the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) and shall have due regard to the nature, scale and complexity of risks, business practices, business models and size of financial sector operators and of markets. Those measures shall include:
By 31 December 2020, the Authority shall develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying the definition of weaknesses as referred to in point (a) of the first subparagraph, including the corresponding situations where weaknesses may occur, the materiality of weaknesses and the practical implementation of the information collection by the Authority as well as the type of information that should be provided pursuant to point (a) of the first subparagraph. In developing those technical standards, the Authority shall consider the volume of the information to be provided and the need to avoid duplication. It shall also set out arrangements to ensure effectiveness and confidentiality. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14. 2. The Authority shall establish and keep up to date a central database of information collected pursuant to point (a) of paragraph 1. The Authority shall ensure that that information is analysed and made available to competent authorities on a need-to-know and confidential basis. The Authority may, where appropriate, transmit evidence that is in its possession which could give rise to criminal proceedings to the national judicial authorities and the competent authorities of the Member State concerned in accordance with national procedural rules. The Authority may also, where appropriate, transmit evidence to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office where such evidence concerns offences in respect of which the European Public Prosecutor’s Office exercises or could exercise competence in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 (*19). 3. Competent authorities may address to the Authority reasoned requests for information about financial sector operators relevant for their supervisory activities with regard to the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering or of terrorist financing. The Authority shall assess those requests and provide the information requested by competent authorities on a need-to-know basis and in a timely manner. Where the Authority does not provide the requested information, it shall inform the requesting competent authority and give an explanation as to why the information is not provided. The Authority shall inform the competent authority, or any other authority or institution that has initially provided the requested information, of the identity of the requesting competent authority, the identity of the financial sector operator concerned, the reason for the information request as well as whether the information has been shared. In addition, the Authority shall analyse the information in order to share relevant information on its own initiative with competent authorities for their supervisory activities with regard to the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering or terrorist financing. Where it does so share, it shall notify the competent authority that initially provided the information. It shall also conduct analysis on an aggregate basis for the opinion it is requested to deliver pursuant to Article 6(5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849. By 31 December 2020, the Authority shall develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying how information is to be analysed and made available to competent authorities on a need-to-know and confidential basis. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the second subparagraph of this paragraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14. 4. The Authority shall promote convergence of supervisory processes referred to in Directive (EU) 2015/849, including by conducting peer reviews, and issuing related reports and follow-up measures in accordance with Article 30 of this Regulation. The Authority, when conducting such reviews in accordance with Article 30 of this Regulation, shall take into account relevant evaluations, assessments or reports drawn up by international organisations and intergovernmental bodies competent in the field of preventing money laundering or terrorist financing as well as the biannual report made by the Commission under Article 6 of Directive (EU) 2015/849, and the risk assessments carried out by Member States pursuant to Article 7 of that Directive. 5. The Authority shall, with the participation of the competent authorities, perform risk assessments of the strategies, capacities and resources of competent authorities to address the most important emerging risks related to money laundering and terrorist financing at Union level as identified in the supranational risk assessment. It shall perform those risk assessments in particular for the purpose of issuing the opinion that it is requested to deliver pursuant to Article 6(5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849. The Authority shall perform risk assessments on the basis of the information available to it, including peer reviews in accordance with Article 30 of this Regulation, the analysis that it has conducted on an aggregate basis of the information collected for the purposes of the central database pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, as well as relevant evaluations, assessments or reports drawn up by international organisations and intergovernmental bodies with competence in the field of preventing money laundering and terrorist financing and the risk assessments by the Member States prepared pursuant to Article 7 of Directive (EU) 2015/849. The Authority shall make the risk assessments available to all competent authorities. For the purposes of the first subparagraph of this paragraph, the Authority, through the internal committee established under paragraph 7 of this Article, shall develop and apply methods to allow for an objective assessment, as well as a high- quality and consistent review of the assessments and the application of the methodology and to ensure a level playing field. That internal committee shall carry out the quality and consistency review of the risk assessments. It shall prepare the draft risk assessments for adoption by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with Article 44. 6. In cases where there are indications of breaches, on the part of financial sector operators, of the requirements laid down in Directive (EU) 2015/849 and where there is a cross-border dimension with third countries, the Authority shall have a leading role in contributing to facilitate cooperation between competent authorities in the Union and the relevant authorities in third countries where necessary. This role of the Authority shall be without prejudice to the regular interactions by competent authorities with third-country authorities. 7. The Authority shall establish a permanent internal committee on anti-money-laundering and countering terrorist financing to coordinate measures in order to prevent and counter the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering or terrorist financing and to prepare, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2015/847 and Directive (EU) 2015/849, all draft decisions to be taken by the Authority in accordance with Article 44 of this Regulation. 8. The committee referred to in paragraph 7 shall be composed of high-level representatives of the authorities and bodies of all Member States competent to ensure the compliance of financial sector operators with Regulation (EU) 2015/847 and Directive (EU) 2015/849 who have expertise and decision-making powers in the area of the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering or terrorist financing as well as high-level representatives who have expertise in the different business models and sectoral specificities of the Authority, of the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and of the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) respectively. The high-level representatives of the Authority and of those other European Supervisory Authorities shall participate in the meetings of that committee without the right to vote. In addition, the Commission, the ESRB, and the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank, shall each nominate a high-level representative to participate in meetings of that committee, as observers. The chair of that committee shall be elected by and from the voting members of that committee. Each institution, authority and body referred to in the first subparagraph shall nominate an alternate representative from its staff, who may replace the member where that person is prevented from attending. Member States where more than one authority is competent for ensuring compliance with Directive (EU) 2015/849 for financial sector operators may nominate one representative for each competent authority. Irrespective of the number of competent authorities represented in the meeting, each Member State shall have one vote. That committee may establish internal working groups on specific aspects of its work with a view to preparing draft decisions of that committee. Those groups shall be open for participation to staff from all competent authorities represented in that committee and from the Authority, the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority). 9. The Authority, the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) may at any time submit written observations on any draft decision of the committee referred to in paragraph 7 of this Article. The Board of Supervisors shall duly consider such observations before taking its final decision. Where a draft decision is based on, or connected with, the powers conferred upon the Authority under Article 9b, 17 or 19 and concerns:
the Authority may only take the decision in agreement with the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), in the case of point (a), or of the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), in the case of point (b). The European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) or the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) shall notify their views to the Authority within 20 days from the date of the draft decision by the committee referred to in paragraph 7. Where they do not notify their views to the Authority within 20 days nor request a duly justified prolongation for notifying such views the agreement shall be presumed. Article 9 - b Request for investigation related to the prevention and countering of money laundering and of terrorist financing 1. In matters concerning the prevention of and countering the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering and terrorist financing, in accordance with Directive (EU) 2015/849, the Authority may, where it has indications of material breaches, request a competent authority as referred to in point (2)(iii) of Article 4: (a) to investigate possible breaches of Union law, and where such Union law is composed of Directives or explicitly grants options for Member States, breaches of national law to the extent that it transposes Directives or exercises options granted to Member States by Union law, by a financial sector operator; and (b) to consider imposing sanctions on that operator in respect of such breaches. Where necessary, it may also request a competent authority as referred to in point (2)(iii) of Article 4 to consider adopting an individual decision addressed to that financial sector operator requiring it to undertake all necessary action to comply with its obligations under directly applicable Union law, or under national law to the extent that it transposes Directives or exercises options granted to Member States by Union law, including the cessation of any practice. The requests referred to in this paragraph shall not impede ongoing supervisory measures by the competent authority to which the request is addressed.2. The competent authority shall comply with any request addressed to it in accordance with paragraph 1 and shall inform the Authority, as soon as possible and within 10 working days at the latest, of the steps it has taken or intends to take to comply with that request. 3. Without prejudice to the powers of the Commission under Article 258 TFEU, where a competent authority does not inform the Authority within 10 working days of the steps it has taken or intends to take to comply with paragraph 2 of this Article, Article 17 of this Regulation shall apply. Article 9 - c No action letters 1. The Authority shall take the measures referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article only in exceptional circumstances when it considers that the application of one of the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), or of any delegated or implementing acts based on those legislative acts, is liable to raise significant issues, for one of the following reasons:
2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, the Authority shall send a detailed account in writing to the competent authorities and the Commission of the issues it considers to exist. In the cases referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1, the Authority shall provide the Commission with an opinion on any action it considers appropriate, in the form of a new legislative proposal or a proposal for a new delegated or implementing act, and on the urgency that, in the Authority’s judgment, is attached to the issue. The Authority shall make its opinion public. In the case referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Authority shall evaluate as soon as possible the need to adopt relevant guidelines or recommendations in accordance with Article 16. The Authority shall act expeditiously, in particular with a view to contributing to the prevention of the issues referred to in paragraph 1, whenever possible. 3. Where necessary in the cases referred to in paragraph 1, and pending the adoption and application of new measures following the steps referred to in paragraph 2, the Authority shall issue opinions regarding specific provisions of the acts referred to in paragraph 1 with a view to furthering consistent, efficient and effective supervisory and enforcement practices, and the common, uniform and consistent application of Union law. 4. Where, on the basis of information received, in particular from competent authorities, the Authority considers that any of the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), or any delegated or implementing act based on those legislative acts, raises significant exceptional issues pertaining to market confidence, consumer, customer or investor protection, the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or commodity markets, or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system in the Union, it shall, without undue delay, send a detailed account in writing to the competent authorities and the Commission of the issues it considers to exist. The Authority may provide the Commission with an opinion on any action it considers appropriate, in the form of a new legislative proposal or a proposal for a new delegated or implementing act, and on the urgency of the issue. The Authority shall make its opinion public. (*19) Council Regulation (EU) 2017/1939 of 12 October 2017 implementing enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (“the EPPO”) (OJ L 283, 31.10.2017, p. 1).’;" |
(8) | Article 10 is amended as follows:
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(9) | in Article 13(1), the second subparagraph is deleted; |
(10) | Article 15 is amended as follows:
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(11) | Article 16 is amended as follows:
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(12) | the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 16a Opinions 1. The Authority may, upon a request from the European Parliament, from the Council or from the Commission, or on its own initiative, provide opinions to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission on all issues related to its area of competence. 2. The request referred to in paragraph 1 may include a public consultation or a technical analysis. 3. With regard to assessments referred to in Article 22 of Directive 2013/36/EU, and which according to that Article require consultation between competent authorities from two or more Member States, the Authority may, at the request of one of the competent authorities concerned, issue and publish an opinion on such assessments. The opinion shall be issued promptly and, in any event, before the end of the assessment period referred to in that Article. 4. The Authority may, upon a request from the European Parliament, from the Council or from the Commission provide technical advice to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission in the areas set out in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). Article 16 - b Questions and answers 1. Without prejudice to paragraph 5 of this Article, questions relating to the practical application or implementation of the provisions of legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), associated delegated and implementing acts, and guidelines and recommendations, adopted pursuant to those legislative acts, may be submitted by any natural or legal person, including competent authorities and Union institutions and bodies, to the Authority in any official language of the Union.Before submitting a question to the Authority, financial institutions shall consider whether to address the question in the first place to their competent authority. Before publishing answers to admissible questions, the Authority may seek further clarification on questions asked by the natural or legal person referred to in this paragraph. 2. Answers by the Authority to questions as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be non-binding. Answers shall be made available at least in the language in which the question was submitted. 3. The Authority shall establish and maintain a web-based tool available on its website for the submission of questions and the timely publication of all questions received as well as all answers to all admissible questions pursuant to paragraph 1, unless such publication is in conflict with the legitimate interest of those persons or would involve risks to the stability of the financial system. The Authority may reject questions it does not intend to answer. Rejected questions shall be published by the Authority on its website for a period of two months. 4. Three voting members of the Board of Supervisors may request the Board of Supervisors to decide pursuant to Article 44 whether to address the issue of the admissible question referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in guidelines pursuant to Article 16, to request advice from the Stakeholder Group referred to in Article 37, to review questions and answers at appropriate intervals, to conduct open public consultations or to analyse potential related costs and benefits. Such consultations and analyses shall be proportionate in relation to the scope, nature and impact of the draft questions and answers concerned or in relation to the particular urgency of the matter. When involving the Stakeholder Group referred to in Article 37, a duty of confidentiality shall apply. 5. The Authority shall forward questions that require the interpretation of Union law to the Commission. The Authority shall publish any answers provided by the Commission.’; |
(13) | Article 17 is amended as follows:
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(14) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 17a Protection of reporting persons 1. The Authority shall have in place dedicated reporting channels for receiving and handling information provided by a natural or legal person reporting on actual or potential breaches, abuse of law, or non-application of Union law. 2. The natural or legal persons reporting through those channels shall be protected against retaliation in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*20), where applicable. 3. The Authority shall ensure that all information may be submitted anonymously or confidentially, and safely. Where the Authority deems that the submitted information contains evidence or significant indications of a material breach, it shall provide feedback to the reporting person. (*20) Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17).’;" |
(15) | in Article 18, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. Where the Council has adopted a decision pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article and, in exceptional circumstances, where coordinated action by competent authorities is necessary to respond to adverse developments which may seriously jeopardise the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system in the Union or customer and consumer protection, the Authority may adopt individual decisions requiring competent authorities to take the necessary action in accordance with the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) to address any such developments by ensuring that financial institutions and competent authorities satisfy the requirements laid down in those legislative acts.’; |
(16) | Article 19 is amended as follows:
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(17) | Article 21 is amended as follows:
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(18) | Article 22 is amended as follows:
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(19) | in Article 23, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. The Authority shall, in consultation with the ESRB, develop criteria for the identification and measurement of systemic risk and an adequate stress-testing regime which includes an evaluation of the potential for systemic risk posed by, or to, financial institutions to increase in situations of stress, including potential environmental-related systemic risk. The financial institutions that may pose a systemic risk shall be subject to strengthened supervision, and where necessary, the recovery and resolution procedures referred to in Article 25.’; |
(20) | in Article 27(2), the third subparagraph is deleted; |
(21) | Article 29 is amended as follows:
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(22) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 29a Union strategic supervisory priorities Following a discussion in the Board of Supervisors and taking into account contributions received from competent authorities, existing work by the Union Institutions, and analysis, warnings and recommendations published by the ESRB, the Authority shall, at least every three years, by 31 March, identify up to two priorities of Union-wide relevance which shall reflect future developments and trends. Competent authorities shall take those priorities into account when drawing up their work programmes and shall notify the Authority accordingly. The Authority shall discuss the relevant activities by the competent authorities in the following year and draw conclusions. The Authority shall discuss possible follow-up which may include guidelines, recommendations to competent authorities, and peer reviews, in the respective area. The priorities of Union-wide relevance identified by the Authority shall not prevent competent authorities from applying their best practices, acting on their additional priorities and developments, and national specificities shall be considered.’; |
(23) | Article 30 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 30 Peer reviews of competent authorities 1. The Authority shall periodically conduct peer reviews of some or all of the activities of competent authorities, to further strengthen consistency and effectiveness in supervisory outcomes. To that end, the Authority shall develop methods to allow for an objective assessment and comparison between the competent authorities reviewed. When planning and conducting peer reviews, existing information and evaluations already made with regard to the competent authority concerned, including any relevant information provided to the Authority in accordance with Article 35, and any relevant information from stakeholders shall be taken into account. 2. For the purposes of this Article, the Authority shall establish ad hoc peer review committees, which shall be composed of staff from the Authority and members of the competent authorities. The peer review committees shall be chaired by a member of the Authority’s staff. The Chairperson, after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation, shall propose the chair and the members of a peer review committee which shall be approved by the Board of Supervisors. The proposal shall be deemed to be approved unless, within 10 days of the Chairperson proposing it, the Board of Supervisors adopts a decision to reject it. 3. The peer review shall include an assessment of, but shall not be limited to:
4. The Authority shall produce a report setting out the results of the peer review. That peer review report shall be prepared by the peer review committee and adopted by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with Article 44(3a). When drafting that report, the peer review committee shall consult the Management Board in order to maintain consistency with other peer review reports and to ensure a level playing field. The Management Board shall assess in particular whether the methodology has been applied in the same manner. The report shall explain and indicate the follow-up measures that are deemed appropriate, proportionate and necessary as a result of the peer review. Those follow-up measures may be adopted in the form of guidelines and recommendations pursuant to Article 16 and opinions pursuant to point (a) of Article 29(1). In accordance with Article 16(3), the competent authorities shall make every effort to comply with any guidelines and recommendations issued. When developing draft regulatory technical standards or draft implementing technical standards in accordance with Articles 10 to 15, or guidelines or recommendations in accordance with Article 16, the Authority shall take into account the outcome of the peer review, along with any other information acquired by the Authority in carrying out its tasks, in order to ensure convergence of the highest quality supervisory practices. 5. The Authority shall submit an opinion to the Commission where, having regard to the outcome of the peer review or to any other information acquired by the Authority in carrying out its tasks, it considers that further harmonisation of Union rules applicable to financial institutions or competent authorities would be necessary from the Union’s perspective. 6. The Authority shall undertake a follow-up report after two years of the publication of the peer review report. The follow-up report shall be prepared by the peer review committee and adopted by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with Article 44(3a). When drafting that report, the peer review committee shall consult the Management Board in order to maintain consistency with other follow-up reports. The follow-up report shall include an assessment of, but shall not be limited to, the adequacy and effectiveness of the actions undertaken by the competent authorities that are subject to the peer review in response to the follow-up measures of the peer review report. 7. The peer review committee shall, after consulting the competent authorities subject to the peer review, identify the reasoned main findings of the peer review. The Authority shall publish the reasoned main findings of the peer review and of the follow-up report referred to in paragraph 6. Where the reasoned main findings of the Authority differ from those identified by the peer review committee, the Authority shall transmit, on a confidential basis, the peer review committee’s findings to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission. Where a competent authority that is subject to the peer review is concerned that the publication of the Authority’s reasoned main findings would pose a risk to the stability of the financial system, it shall have the possibility to refer the matter to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors may decide not to publish those extracts. 8. For the purposes of this Article, the Management Board shall make a proposal for a peer review work plan for the coming two years, which shall inter alia reflect the lessons learnt from the past peer review processes and discussions of coordination groups referred to in Article 45b. The peer review work plan shall constitute a separate part of the annual and multiannual working programme. It shall be made public. In case of urgency or unforeseen events, the Authority may decide to carry out additional peer reviews.’; |
(24) | Article 31 is amended as follows:
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(25) | the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 31a Information exchange on fitness and propriety The Authority shall, together with the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and with the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), establish a system for the exchange of information relevant to the assessment of the fitness and propriety of holders of qualifying holdings, directors and key function holders of financial institutions by competent authorities in accordance with the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2).’; |
(26) | Article 32 is amended as follows:
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(27) | Article 33 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 33 International relations including equivalence 1. Without prejudice to the respective competences of the Member States and the Union institutions, the Authority may develop contacts and enter into administrative arrangements with regulatory, supervisory and, where applicable, resolution authorities, international organisations and third-country administrations. Those arrangements shall not create legal obligations in respect of the Union and its Member States nor shall they prevent Member States and their competent authorities from concluding bilateral or multilateral arrangements with those third countries. Where a third country, in accordance with a delegated act, which is in force, adopted by the Commission pursuant to Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2015/849, is on the list of jurisdictions which have strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes that pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union, the Authority shall not conclude administrative arrangements with the regulatory, supervisory and, where applicable, resolution authorities of that third country. This shall not preclude other forms of cooperation between the Authority and the respective third-country authorities with a view to reduce threats to the financial system of the Union. 2. The Authority shall assist the Commission in preparing equivalence decisions pertaining to regulatory and supervisory regimes in third countries following a specific request for advice from the Commission or where required to do so by the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). 3. The Authority shall monitor, with a particular focus on their implications for financial stability, market integrity, investor protection and the functioning of the internal market, relevant regulatory, supervisory and, where applicable, resolution developments, and enforcement practices and market developments in third countries, to the extent they are relevant to risk-based equivalence assessments, for which equivalence decisions have been adopted by the Commission pursuant to the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). Furthermore, it shall verify whether the criteria, on the basis of which those equivalence decisions have been taken, and any conditions set out therein, are still fulfilled. The Authority may liaise with relevant authorities in third countries. The Authority shall submit a confidential report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission and to the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) summarising the findings of its monitoring of all equivalent third countries. The report shall focus in particular on implications for financial stability, market integrity, investor protection or the functioning of the internal market. Where the Authority identifies relevant developments in relation to the regulation, supervision or, where applicable, resolution, or the enforcement practices in the third countries referred to in this paragraph that may affect the financial stability of the Union or of one or more of its Member States, market integrity, investor protection or the functioning of the internal market, it shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on a confidential basis and without undue delay. 4. Without prejudice to specific requirements set out in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) and subject to the conditions set out in the second sentence of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Authority shall cooperate where possible with the relevant competent authorities, and where applicable, also with resolution authorities, of third countries whose regulatory and supervisory regimes have been recognised as equivalent. In principle, that cooperation shall be pursued on the basis of administrative arrangements concluded with the relevant authorities of those third countries. When negotiating such administrative arrangements, the Authority shall include provisions on the following:
The Authority shall inform the Commission where a third-country competent authority refuses to conclude such administrative arrangements or when it refuses to effectively cooperate. 5. The Authority may develop model administrative arrangements, with a view to establishing consistent, efficient and effective supervisory practices within the Union and to strengthening international supervisory coordination. The competent authorities shall make every effort to follow such model arrangements. In the report referred to in Article 43(5), the Authority shall include information on the administrative arrangements agreed upon with supervisory authorities, international organisations or administrations in third countries, the assistance provided by the Authority to the Commission in preparing equivalence decisions and the monitoring by the Authority in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article. 6. The Authority shall, within its powers pursuant to this Regulation and to the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), contribute to the united, common, consistent and effective representation of the Union’s interests in international fora.’; |
(28) | Article 34 is deleted; |
(29) | Article 36 is amended as follows:
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(30) | Article 37 is amended as follows:
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(31) | Article 39 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 39 Decision-making procedures 1. The Authority shall act in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 6 of this Article when adopting decisions pursuant to Articles 17, 18 and 19. 2. The Authority shall inform any addressee of a decision of its intention to adopt the decision, in the official language of the addressee, setting a time limit within which the addressee may express its views on the subject-matter of the decision, taking full account of the urgency, complexity and potential consequences of the matter. The addressee may express its views in its official language. The provision laid down in the first sentence shall apply mutatis mutandis to recommendations as referred to in Article 17(3). 3. The decisions of the Authority shall state the reasons on which they are based. 4. The addressees of decisions of the Authority shall be informed of the legal remedies available under this Regulation. 5. Where the Authority has taken a decision pursuant to Article 18(3) or 18(4), it shall review that decision at appropriate intervals. 6. The decisions which the Authority takes pursuant to Article 17, 18 or 19 shall be made public. The publication shall disclose the identity of the competent authority or financial institution concerned and the main content of the decision, unless such publication is in conflict with the legitimate interest of those financial institutions, or with the protection of their business secrets, or could seriously jeopardise the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system of the Union.’; |
(32) | Article 40 is amended as follows:
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(33) | Articles 41 and 42 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 41 Internal committees 1. The Board of Supervisors, on its own initiative or at the request of the Chairperson, may establish internal committees for specific tasks attributed to it. Upon request from the Management Board or from the Chairperson, the Board of Supervisors may establish internal committees for specific tasks attributed to the Management Board. The Board of Supervisors may provide for the delegation of certain clearly defined tasks and decisions to internal committees, to the Management Board or to the Chairperson. 2. For the purposes of Article 17, and without prejudice to the role of the committee referred to in Article 9a(7), the Chairperson shall propose a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. The six other members shall not be representatives of the competent authority alleged to have breached Union law and shall not have any interest in the matter or direct links to the competent authority concerned. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 3. For the purposes of Article 19, and without prejudice to the role of the committee referred to in Article 9a(7), the Chairperson shall propose a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. The six other members shall not be representatives of the competent authorities party to the disagreement and shall not have any interest in the matter or direct links to the competent authorities concerned. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 4. For the purposes of conducting the inquiry provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 22(4), the Chairperson may propose a decision to launch the inquiry and a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 5. The panels referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article or the Chairperson shall propose decisions under Article 17, or Article 19, except on matters concerning the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering or of terrorist financing, for final adoption by the Board of Supervisors. A panel referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall present the outcome of the inquiry conducted pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 22(4) to the Board of Supervisors. 6. The Board of Supervisors shall adopt rules of procedure for the panels referred to in this Article. Article 42 - Independence of the Board of Supervisors 1. When carrying out the tasks conferred upon them by this Regulation, the members of the Board of Supervisors shall act independently and objectively in the sole interest of the Union as a whole and shall neither seek nor take instructions from Union institutions or bodies, from any government or from any other public or private body.2. Member States, Union institutions or bodies, and any other public or private body, shall not seek to influence the members of the Board of Supervisors in the performance of their tasks. 3. Members of the Board of Supervisors, the Chairperson as well as non-voting representatives and observers participating in the meetings of the Board of Supervisors shall, before such meetings, accurately and completely declare the absence or existence of any interest which might be considered prejudicial to their independence in relation to any items on the agenda, and shall abstain from participating in the discussion of, and voting upon, such points. 4. The Board of Supervisors shall lay down, in its rules of procedure, the practical arrangements for the rule on declaration of interest referred to in paragraph 3 and for the prevention and the management of conflict of interest.’; |
(34) | Article 43 is amended as follows:
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(35) | the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 43a Transparency of decisions adopted by the Board of Supervisors Notwithstanding Article 70, within six weeks of each meeting of the Board of Supervisors, the Authority shall, at least provide the European Parliament with a comprehensive and meaningful record of the proceedings of that meeting that enables a full understanding of the discussions, including an annotated list of decisions. Such record shall not reflect discussions within the Board of Supervisors relating to individual financial institutions, unless otherwise provided for in Article 75(3) or in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2).’; |
(36) | Article 44 is amended as follows:
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(37) | Article 45 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 45 Composition 1. The Management Board shall be composed of the Chairperson and six members of the Board of Supervisors, elected by and from the voting members of the Board of Supervisors. Other than the Chairperson, each member of the Management Board shall have an alternate, who may replace him or her if he or she is prevented from attending. 2. The term of office of the members elected by the Board of Supervisors shall be two-and-a-half years. That term may be extended once. The composition of the Management Board shall be gender balanced and proportionate and shall reflect the Union as a whole. The Management Board shall include at least two representatives of non-participating Member States. Mandates shall be overlapping and an appropriate rotating arrangement shall apply. 3. Meetings of the Management Board shall be convened by the Chairperson at his or her own initiative or at the request of at least a third of its members, and shall be chaired by the Chairperson. The Management Board shall meet prior to every meeting of the Board of Supervisors and as often as the Management Board deems necessary. It shall meet at least five times a year. 4. The members of the Management Board may, subject to the rules of procedure, be assisted by advisers or experts. The non-voting members, with the exception of the Executive Director, shall not attend any discussions within the Management Board relating to individual financial institutions.’; |
(38) | the following Articles are inserted: ‘Article 45a Decision-making 1. Decisions by the Management Board shall be adopted by simple majority of its members whilst striving for consensus. Each member shall have one vote. The Chairperson shall be a voting member. 2. The Executive Director and a representative of the Commission shall participate in meetings of the Management Board without the right to vote. The representative of the Commission shall have the right to vote on matters referred to in Article 63. 3. The Management Board shall adopt and make public its rules of procedure. Article 45 - b Coordination Groups 1. The Management Board may set up coordination groups on its own initiative or upon the request of a competent authority on defined topics for which there may be a need to coordinate having regard to specific market developments. The Management Board shall set up coordination groups on defined topics at the request of five members of the Board of Supervisors.2. All competent authorities shall participate in the coordination groups and shall provide, in accordance with Article 35, to the coordination groups the information necessary in order to allow the coordination groups to conduct their coordinating tasks in accordance with their mandate. The work of the coordination groups shall be based on information provided by the competent authorities and any findings identified by the Authority. 3. The groups shall be chaired by a member of the Management Board. Each year, the respective member of the Management Board in charge of the coordination group shall report to the Board of Supervisors on the main elements of the discussions and findings and, where relevant, make a suggestion for a regulatory follow-up or a peer review in the respective area. Competent authorities shall notify the Authority as to how they have taken into account the work of coordination groups in their activities. 4. When monitoring market developments that may be the focus of coordination groups, the Authority may request competent authorities in accordance with Article 35 to provide information necessary to allow the Authority to perform its monitoring role.’; |
(39) | Article 46 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 46 Independence of the Management Board The members of the Management Board shall act independently and objectively in the sole interest of the Union as a whole and shall neither seek nor take instructions from the Union institutions or bodies, from any government or from any other public or private body. Member States, Union institutions or bodies and any other public or private body shall not seek to influence the members of the Management Board in the performance of their tasks.’; |
(40) | Article 47 is amended as follows:
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(41) | Article 48 is amended as follows:
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(42) | Article 49 is amended as follows:
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(43) | Article 49a is replaced by the following: ‘Article 49a Expenses The Chairperson shall make public all meetings held with external stakeholders within a period of two weeks following the meeting and any hospitality received. Expenses shall be recorded publicly in accordance with the Staff Regulations.’; |
(44) | Article 50 is deleted; |
(45) | Article 54 is amended as follows:
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(46) | Article 55 is amended as follows:
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(47) | Articles 56 and 57 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 56 Joint positions and common acts Within the scope of its tasks set out in Chapter II of this Regulation, and in particular with respect to the implementation of Directive 2002/87/EC, where relevant, the Authority shall reach joint positions by consensus with, as appropriate, the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and with the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority). Where required by Union law, measures pursuant to Articles 10 to 16, and decisions pursuant to Articles 17, 18 and 19, of this Regulation in relation to the application of Directive 2002/87/EC and of any other legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) of this Regulation that also fall within the area of competence of the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) or the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) shall be adopted, in parallel, by, as appropriate, the Authority, the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), and the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority). Article 57 - Sub-Committees 1. The Joint Committee may establish sub-committees for the purpose of preparing draft joint positions and common acts for the Joint Committee.2. Each sub-committee shall be composed of the individuals referred to in Article 55(1), and one high-level representative from the current staff of the relevant competent authority from each Member State. 3. Each sub-committee shall elect a chairperson from among the representatives of the relevant competent authorities, who shall also be an observer in the Joint Committee. 4. For the purposes of Article 56, a sub-committee on financial conglomerates to the Joint Committee shall be established. 5. The Joint Committee shall make public on its website all established sub-committees including their mandates and a list of their members with their respective functions in the sub-committee.’; |
(48) | Article 58 is amended as follows:
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(49) | in Article 59, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. Members of the Board of Appeal, and staff of the Authority providing operational and secretariat support, shall not take part in any appeal proceedings in which they have any personal interest, if they have previously been involved as representatives of one of the parties to the proceedings, or if they have participated in the decision under appeal.’; |
(50) | in Article 60, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. The appeal, together with a statement of grounds, shall be filed in writing at the Authority within three months of the date of notification of the decision to the person concerned, or, in the absence of a notification, of the day on which the Authority published its decision. The Board of Appeal shall decide upon the appeal within three months after the appeal has been lodged.’; |
(51) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 60a Exceeding of competence by the Authority Any natural or legal person may send reasoned advice to the Commission if that person is of the opinion that the Authority has exceeded its competence, including by failing to respect the principle of proportionality referred to in Article 1(5), when acting under Articles 16 and 16b, and that is of direct and individual concern to that person.’; |
(52) | in Article 62, paragraph 1 is amended as follows:
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(53) | Articles 63, 64 and 65 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 63 Establishment of the budget 1. Each year, the Executive Director shall draw up a provisional draft single programming document of the Authority for the three following financial years setting out the estimated revenue and expenditure, as well as information on staff, from its annual and multi-annual programming and shall forward it to the Management Board and the Board of Supervisors, together with the establishment plan. 2. The Board of Supervisors shall, on the basis of the draft which has been approved by the Management Board, adopt the draft single programming document for the three following financial years. 3. The single programming document shall be transmitted by the Management Board to the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council and to the European Court of Auditors by 31 January. 4. Taking account of the single programming document, the Commission shall enter in the draft budget of the Union the estimates it deems necessary in respect of the establishment plan and the amount of the balancing contribution to be charged to the general budget of the Union in accordance with Articles 313 and 314 TFEU. 5. The European Parliament and the Council shall adopt the establishment plan for the Authority. The European Parliament and the Council shall authorise the appropriations for the balancing contribution to the Authority. 6. The budget of the Authority shall be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. It shall become final after the final adoption of the general budget of the Union. Where necessary, it shall be adjusted accordingly. 7. The Management Board shall, without undue delay, notify the European Parliament and the Council of its intention to implement any project which may have significant financial implications for the funding of its budget, in particular any project relating to property, such as the rental or purchase of buildings. 8. Without prejudice to Articles 266 and 267 of the Financial Regulation, authorisation from the European Parliament and the Council shall be required for any project which may have significant financial or long-term implications for the funding of the Authority’s budget, in particular any project relating to property, such as the rental or purchase of buildings, including break clauses. Article 64 - Implementation and control of the budget 1. The Executive Director shall act as authorising officer and shall implement the Authority’s annual budget.2. The Authority’s accounting officer shall send the provisional accounts to the Commission’s accounting officer and to the Court of Auditors by 1 March of the following year. Article 70 shall not preclude the Authority from providing to the Court of Auditors any information requested by the Court of Auditors that is within its competence. 3. The Authority’s accounting officer shall send, by 1 March of the following year, the required accounting information for consolidation purposes to the accounting officer of the Commission, in the manner and format laid down by that accounting officer. 4. The Authority’s accounting officer shall also send, by 31 March of the following year, the report on budgetary and financial management to the members of the Board of Supervisors, to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Court of Auditors. 5. After receiving the observations of the Court of Auditors on the provisional accounts of the Authority in accordance with Article 246 of the Financial Regulation, the Authority’s accounting officer shall draw up the Authority’s final accounts. The Executive Director shall send them to the Board of Supervisors, which shall deliver an opinion on those accounts. 6. The Authority’s accounting officer shall, by 1 July of the following year, send the final accounts, accompanied by the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, to the accounting officer of the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors. The Authority’s accounting officer shall also send, by 15 June each year, a reporting package to the Commission’s accounting officer, in a standardised format as laid down by the Commission’s accounting officer for consolidation purposes. 7. The final accounts shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by 15 November of the following year. 8. The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to the latter’s observations by 30 September and shall also send a copy of that reply to the Management Board and to the Commission. 9. The Executive Director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the latter’s request and as provided for in Article 261(3) of the Financial Regulation, any information necessary for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question. 10. The European Parliament, following a recommendation from the Council acting by qualified majority, shall, before 15 May of the year N + 2, grant a discharge to the Authority for the implementation of the budget for the financial year N. 11. The Authority shall provide a reasoned opinion on the position of the European Parliament and on any other observations made by the European Parliament provided in the discharge procedure. Article 65 - Financial rules The financial rules applicable to the Authority shall be adopted by the Management Board after consulting the Commission. Those rules may not depart from Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 (*23) unless the specific operational needs for the functioning of the Authority so require and only with the prior agreement of the Commission.(*23) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 122, 10.5.2019, p. 1).’;" |
(54) | in Article 66, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. For the purposes of combating fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*24) shall apply to the Authority without any restriction. (*24) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).’;" |
(55) | Article 70 is amended as follows:
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(56) | Article 71 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 71 Data protection This Regulation shall be without prejudice to the obligations of Member States relating to their processing of personal data under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or the obligations of the Authority relating to its processing of personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*26) when fulfilling its responsibilities. (*26) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).’;" |
(57) | in Article 72, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. The Management Board shall adopt practical measures for applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.’; |
(58) | in Article 74, the first paragraph is replaced by the following: ‘The necessary arrangements concerning the accommodation to be provided for the Authority in the Member State where its seat is located and the facilities to be made available by that Member State, as well as the specific rules applicable in that Member State to the staff of the Authority and members of their families, shall be laid down in a Headquarters Agreement between the Authority and that Member State which they concluded after obtaining the approval of the Management Board.’; |
(59) | Article 76 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 76 Relationship with the Committee of European Banking Supervisors The Authority shall be considered the legal successor of Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS). By the date of establishment of the Authority, all assets and liabilities and all pending operations of CEBS shall be automatically transferred to the Authority. CEBS shall establish a statement showing its closing asset and liability situation as of the date of that transfer. That statement shall be audited and approved by CEBS and by the Commission.’; |
(60) | Article 81 is amended as follows:
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Article 2 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1094/2010
(1) | Article 1 is amended as follows:
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(2) | Article 2 is amended as follows:
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(3) | Article 3 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 3 Accountability of the Authorities 1. The Authorities referred to in points (a) to (d) of Article 2(2) shall be accountable to the European Parliament and to the Council. 2. In accordance with Article 226 TFEU, the Authority shall fully cooperate with the European Parliament during any investigation carried out under that Article. 3. The Board of Supervisors shall adopt an annual report on the activities of the Authority, including on the performance of the Chairperson’s duties, and shall, by 15 June each year, transmit that report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission, to the Court of Auditors and to the European Economic and Social Committee. The report shall be made public. 4. At the request of the European Parliament, the Chairperson shall participate in a hearing before the European Parliament on the performance of the Authority. A hearing shall take place at least annually. The Chairperson shall make a statement before the European Parliament and answer any questions from its members, whenever so requested. 5. The Chairperson shall report in writing on the activities of the Authority to the European Parliament when requested and at least 15 days before making the statement referred to in paragraph 4. 6. In addition to the information referred to in Articles 11 to 18 and Articles 20 and 33, the report shall also include any relevant information requested by the European Parliament on an ad hoc basis. 7. The Authority shall reply orally or in writing to any question addressed to it by the European Parliament or by the Council within five weeks of its receipt. 8. Upon request, the Chairperson shall hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair, Vice-Chairs and Coordinators of the competent committee of the European Parliament. All participants shall respect the requirements of professional secrecy. 9. Without prejudice to its confidentiality obligations stemming from participation in international fora, the Authority shall inform the European Parliament upon request about its contribution to a united, common, consistent and effective representation of the Union’s interests in such international fora.’; |
(4) | in Article 4, point (2), point (ii) is replaced by the following:
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(5) | In Article 7 the following paragraph is added: ‘The location of the seat of the Authority shall not affect the Authority’s execution of its tasks and powers, the organisation of its governance structure, the operation of its main organisation, or the main financing of its activities, while allowing, where applicable, for the sharing with Union agencies of administrative support services and facility management services which are not related to the core activities of the Authority.’; |
(6) | Article 8 is amended as follows:
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(7) | Article 9 is amended as follows:
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(8) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 9a No action letters 1. The Authority shall take the measures referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article only in exceptional circumstances when it considers that the application of one of the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), or of any delegated or implementing acts based on those legislative acts, is liable to raise significant issues, for one of the following reasons:
2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, the Authority shall send a detailed account in writing to the competent authorities and the Commission of the issues it considers to exist. In the cases referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1, the Authority shall provide the Commission with an opinion on any action it considers appropriate, in the form of a new legislative proposal or a proposal for a new delegated or implementing act, and on the urgency that, in the Authority’s judgment, is attached to the issue. The Authority shall make its opinion public. In the case referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Authority shall evaluate as soon as possible the need to adopt relevant guidelines or recommendations in accordance with Article 16. The Authority shall act expeditiously, in particular with a view to contributing to the prevention of the issues referred to in paragraph 1, whenever possible. 3. Where necessary in the cases referred to in paragraph 1, and pending the adoption and application of new measures following the steps referred to in paragraph 2, the Authority shall issue opinions regarding specific provisions of the acts referred to in paragraph 1 with a view to furthering consistent, efficient and effective supervisory and enforcement practices, and the common, uniform and consistent application of Union law. 4. Where, on the basis of information received, in particular from competent authorities, the Authority considers that any of the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), or any delegated or implementing act based on those legislative acts, raises significant exceptional issues pertaining to market confidence, consumer, customer or investor protection, the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or commodity markets, or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system in the Union, it shall without undue delay send a detailed account in writing to the competent authorities and the Commission of the issues it considers to exist. The Authority may provide the Commission with an opinion on any action it considers appropriate, in the form of a new legislative proposal or a proposal for a new delegated or implementing act, and on the urgency of the issue. The Authority shall make its opinion public.’; |
(9) | Article 10 is amended as follows:
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(10) | in Article 13(1), the second subparagraph is deleted; |
(11) | Article 15 is amended as follows:
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(12) | Article 16 is amended as follows:
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(13) | the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 16a Opinions 1. The Authority may, upon a request from the European Parliament, from the Council or from the Commission, or on its own initiative, provide opinions to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission on all issues related to its area of competence. 2. The request referred to in paragraph 1 may include a public consultation or a technical analysis. 3. With regard to the prudential assessment of mergers and acquisitions falling within the scope of Directive 2009/138/EC and which, according to that Directive, require consultation between competent authorities from two or more Member States, the Authority may, at the request of one of the competent authorities concerned, issue and publish an opinion on a prudential assessment, except in relation to the criteria set out in point (e) of Article 59(1) of Directive 2009/138/EC. The opinion shall be issued promptly and, in any event, before the end of the assessment period in accordance with Directive 2009/138/EC. 4. The Authority may, upon a request from the European Parliament, from the Council or from the Commission provide technical advice to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission in the areas set out in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). Article 16 - b Questions and answers 1. Without prejudice to paragraph 5 of this Article, questions relating to the practical application or implementation of the provisions of legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), associated delegated and implementing acts, and guidelines and recommendations, adopted pursuant to those legislative acts, may be submitted by any natural or legal person, including competent authorities and Union institutions and bodies, to the Authority in any official language of the Union.Before submitting a question to the Authority, financial institutions shall consider whether to address the question in the first place to their competent authority. Before publishing answers to admissible questions, the Authority may seek further clarification on questions asked by the natural or legal person referred to in this paragraph. 2. Answers by the Authority to questions as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be non-binding. Answers shall be made available at least in the language in which the question was submitted. 3. The Authority shall establish and maintain a web-based tool available on its website for the submission of questions and the timely publication of all questions received as well as all answers to all admissible questions pursuant to paragraph 1, unless such publication is in conflict with the legitimate interest of those persons or would involve risks to the stability of the financial system. The Authority may reject questions it does not intend to answer. Rejected questions shall be published by the Authority on its website for a period of two months. 4. Three voting members of the Board of Supervisors may request the Board of Supervisors to decide pursuant to Article 44 whether to address the issue of the admissible question referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in guidelines pursuant to Article 16, to request advice from the Stakeholder Group referred to in Article 37, to review questions and answers at appropriate intervals, to conduct open public consultations or to analyse potential related costs and benefits. Such consultations and analyses shall be proportionate in relation to the scope, nature and impact of the draft questions and answers concerned or in relation to the particular urgency of the matter. When involving the Stakeholder Group referred to in Article 37, a duty of confidentiality shall apply. 5. The Authority shall forward questions that require the interpretation of Union law to the Commission. The Authority shall publish any answers provided by the Commission.’; |
(14) | Article 17 is amended as follows:
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(15) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 17a Protection of reporting persons 1. The Authority shall have in place dedicated reporting channels for receiving and handling information provided by a natural or legal person reporting on actual or potential breaches, abuse of law, or non-application of Union law. 2. The natural or legal persons reporting through those channels shall be protected against retaliation in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*32), where applicable. 3. The Authority shall ensure that all information may be submitted anonymously or confidentially, and safely. Where the Authority deems that the submitted information contains evidence or significant indications of a material breach, it shall provide feedback to the reporting person. (*32) Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17).’;" |
(16) | in Article 18, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. Where the Council has adopted a decision pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article and, in exceptional circumstances, where coordinated action by competent authorities is necessary to respond to adverse developments which may seriously jeopardise the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system in the Union, or customer and consumer protection, the Authority may adopt individual decisions requiring competent authorities to take the necessary action in accordance with the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) to address any such developments by ensuring that financial institutions and competent authorities satisfy the requirements laid down in those legislative acts.’; |
(17) | Article 19 is amended as follows:
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(18) | Article 21 is amended as follows:
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(19) | Article 22 is amended as follows:
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(20) | in Article 23, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. The Authority shall, in consultation with the ESRB, develop criteria for the identification and measurement of systemic risk and an adequate stress-testing regime which includes an evaluation of the potential for systemic risk posed by, or to, financial market participants to increase in situations of stress, including potential environmental-related systemic risk. The financial market participants that may pose a systemic risk shall be subject to strengthened supervision, and where necessary, the recovery and resolution procedures referred to in Article 25.’; |
(21) | Article 29 is amended as follows:
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(22) | the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 29a Union strategic supervisory priorities Following a discussion in the Board of Supervisors and taking into account contributions received from competent authorities, existing work by the Union institutions, and analysis, warnings and recommendations published by the ESRB, the Authority shall, at least every three years, by 31 March, identify up to two priorities of Union-wide relevance which shall reflect future developments and trends. Competent authorities shall take those priorities into account when drawing up their work programmes and shall notify the Authority accordingly. The Authority shall discuss the relevant activities by the competent authorities in the following year and draw conclusions. The Authority shall discuss possible follow up which may include guidelines, recommendations to competent authorities, and peer reviews, in the respective area. The priorities of Union-wide relevance identified by the Authority shall not prevent competent authorities from applying their best practices, acting on their additional priorities and developments, and national specificities shall be considered.’; |
(23) | Article 30 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 30 Peer reviews of competent authorities 1. The Authority shall periodically conduct peer reviews of some or all of the activities of competent authorities, to further strengthen consistency and effectiveness in supervisory outcomes. To that end, the Authority shall develop methods to allow for an objective assessment and comparison between the competent authorities reviewed. When planning and conducting peer reviews, existing information and evaluations already made with regard to the competent authority concerned, including any relevant information provided to the Authority in accordance with Article 35, and any relevant information from stakeholders shall be taken into account. 2. For the purposes of this Article, the Authority shall establish ad hoc peer review committees, which shall be composed of staff from the Authority and members of the competent authorities. The peer review committees shall be chaired by a member of the Authority’s staff. The Chairperson, after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation, shall propose the chair and the members of a peer review committee which shall be approved by the Board of Supervisors. The proposal shall be deemed to be approved unless, within 10 days of the Chairperson proposing it, the Board of Supervisors adopts a decision to reject it. 3. The peer review shall include an assessment of, but shall not be limited to:
4. The Authority shall produce a report setting out the results of the peer review. That peer review report shall be prepared by the peer review committee and adopted by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with Article 44(4). When drafting that report, the peer review committee shall consult the Management Board in order to maintain consistency with other peer review reports and to ensure a level playing field. The Management Board shall assess in particular whether the methodology has been applied in the same manner. The report shall explain and indicate the follow-up measures that are deemed appropriate, proportionate and necessary as a result of the peer review. Those follow-up measures may be adopted in the form of guidelines and recommendations pursuant to Article 16 and opinions pursuant to point (a) of Article 29(1). In accordance with Article 16(3), the competent authorities shall make every effort to comply with any guidelines and recommendations issued. When developing draft regulatory technical standards or draft implementing technical standards in accordance with Articles 10 to 15, or guidelines or recommendations in accordance with Article 16, the Authority shall take into account the outcome of the peer review, along with any other information acquired by the Authority in carrying out its tasks, in order to ensure convergence of the highest quality supervisory practices. 5. The Authority shall submit an opinion to the Commission where, having regard to the outcome of the peer review or to any other information acquired by the Authority in carrying out its tasks, it considers that further harmonisation of Union rules applicable to financial institutions or competent authorities would be necessary from the Union’s perspective. 6. The Authority shall undertake a follow-up report after two years of the publication of the peer review report. The follow-up report shall be prepared by the peer review committee and adopted by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with Article 44(4). When drafting that report, the peer review committee shall consult the Management Board in order to maintain consistency with other follow up reports. The follow-up report shall include an assessment of, but shall not be limited to, the adequacy and effectiveness of the actions undertaken by the competent authorities that are subject to the peer review in response to the follow up measures of the peer review report. 7. The peer review committee shall, after consulting the competent authorities subject to the peer review, identify the reasoned main findings of the peer review. The Authority shall publish the reasoned main findings of the peer review and of the follow-up report referred to in paragraph 6. Where the reasoned main findings of the Authority differ from those identified by the peer review committee, the Authority shall transmit, on a confidential basis, the peer review committee’s findings to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission. Where a competent authority that is subject to the peer review is concerned that the publication of the Authority’s reasoned main findings would pose a risk to the stability of the financial system, it shall have the possibility to refer the matter to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors may decide not to publish those extracts. 8. For the purposes of this Article, the Management Board shall make a proposal for a peer review work plan for the coming two years, which shall inter alia reflect the lessons learnt from the past peer review processes and discussions of coordination groups referred to in Article 45b. The peer review work plan shall constitute a separate part of the annual and multiannual working programme. It shall be made public. In case of urgency or unforeseen events, the Authority may decide to carry out additional peer reviews.’; |
(24) | Article 31 is amended as follows:
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(25) | the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 31a Information exchange on fitness and propriety The Authority shall, together with the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) and with the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority), establish a system for the exchange of information relevant to the assessment of the fitness and propriety of holders of qualifying holdings, directors and key function holders of financial institutions by competent authorities in accordance with the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2).’; |
(26) | Article 32 is amended as follows:
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(27) | Article 33 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 33 International relations including equivalence 1. Without prejudice to the respective competences of the Member States and the Union institutions, the Authority may develop contacts and enter into administrative arrangements with regulatory and supervisory authorities, international organisations and third-country administrations. Those arrangements shall not create legal obligations in respect of the Union and its Member States nor shall they prevent Member States and their competent authorities from concluding bilateral or multilateral arrangements with those third countries. Where a third country, in accordance with a delegated act, which is in force, adopted by the Commission pursuant to Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2015/849, is on the list of jurisdictions which have strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and in countering the financing of terrorism regimes that pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union, the Authority shall not conclude administrative arrangements with the regulatory and supervisory authorities of that third country. This shall not preclude other forms of cooperation between the Authority and the respective third-country authorities with a view to reducing threats to the financial system of the Union. 2. The Authority shall assist the Commission in preparing equivalence decisions pertaining to regulatory and supervisory regimes in third countries following a specific request for advice from the Commission or where required to do so by the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). 3. The Authority shall monitor, with a particular focus on their implications for financial stability, market integrity, policy holder protection and the functioning of the internal market, relevant regulatory and supervisory developments and enforcement practices and market developments in third countries, to the extent they are relevant to risk-based equivalence assessments, for which equivalence decisions have been adopted by the Commission pursuant to the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). Furthermore, it shall verify whether the criteria on the basis of which those equivalence decisions have been taken, and any conditions set out therein are still fulfilled. The Authority may liaise with relevant authorities in third countries. The Authority shall submit a confidential report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission and to the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) and to the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) summarising the findings of its monitoring of all equivalent third countries. The report shall focus in particular on implications for financial stability, market integrity, policy holder protection or the functioning of the internal market. Where the Authority identifies relevant developments in relation to the regulation and supervision or the enforcement practices in the third countries referred to in this paragraph that may affect the financial stability of the Union or of one or more of its Member States, market integrity, policy holder protection or the functioning of the internal market, it shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on a confidential basis and without undue delay. 4. Without prejudice to specific requirements set out in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) and subject to the conditions set out in the second sentence of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Authority shall cooperate where possible with the relevant competent authorities of third countries whose regulatory and supervisory regimes have been recognised as equivalent. In principle, that cooperation shall be pursued on the basis of administrative arrangements concluded with the relevant authorities of those third countries. When negotiating such administrative arrangements, the Authority shall include provisions on the following:
The Authority shall inform the Commission, where a third-country competent authority refuses to conclude such administrative arrangements or when it refuses to effectively cooperate. 5. The Authority may develop model administrative arrangements, with a view to establishing consistent, efficient and effective supervisory practices within the Union and to strengthening international supervisory coordination. The competent authorities shall make every effort to follow such model arrangements. In the report referred to in Article 43(5), the Authority shall include information on the administrative arrangements agreed upon with supervisory authorities, international organisations or administrations in third countries, the assistance provided by the Authority to the Commission in preparing equivalence decisions and the monitoring by the Authority in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article. 6. The Authority shall, within its powers pursuant to this Regulation and to the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), contribute to the united, common, consistent and effective representation of the Union’s interests in international fora.’; |
(28) | Article 34 is deleted; |
(29) | Article 36 is amended as follows:
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(30) | Article 37 is amended as follows:
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(31) | Article 39 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 39 Decision-making procedures 1. The Authority shall act in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 6 of this Article when adopting decisions pursuant to Articles 17, 18 and 19. 2. The Authority shall inform any addressee of a decision of its intention to adopt the decision, in the official language of the addressee, setting a time limit within which the addressee may express its views on the subject-matter of the decision, taking full account of the urgency, complexity and potential consequences of the matter. The addressee may express its views in its official language. The provision laid down in the first sentence shall apply mutatis mutandis to recommendations as referred to in Article 17(3). 3. The decisions of the Authority shall state the reasons on which they are based. 4. The addressees of decisions of the Authority shall be informed of the legal remedies available under this Regulation. 5. Where the Authority has taken a decision pursuant to Article 18(3) or 18(4), it shall review that decision at appropriate intervals. 6. The decisions which the Authority takes pursuant to Article 17, 18 or 19 shall be made public. The publication shall disclose the identity of the competent authority or financial institution concerned and the main content of the decision, unless such publication is in conflict with the legitimate interest of those financial institutions, or with the protection of their business secrets, or could seriously jeopardise the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system of the Union.’; |
(32) | Article 40 is amended as follows
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(33) | Articles 41 and 42 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 41 Internal committees 1. The Board of Supervisors, on its own initiative or at the request of the Chairperson, may establish internal committees for specific tasks attributed to it. Upon request from the Management Board or from the Chairperson, the Board of Supervisors may establish internal committees for specific tasks attributed to the Management Board. The Board of Supervisors may provide for the delegation of certain clearly defined tasks and decisions to internal committees, to the Management Board or to the Chairperson. 2. For the purposes of Article 17, the Chairperson shall propose a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. The six other members shall not be representatives of the competent authority alleged to have breached Union law and shall not have any interest in the matter or direct links to the competent authority concerned. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 3. For the purposes of Article 19, the Chairperson shall propose a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. The six other members shall not be representatives of the competent authorities party to the disagreement and shall not have any interest in the conflict or direct links to the competent authorities concerned. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 4. For the purposes of conducting the inquiry provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 22(4), the Chairperson may propose a decision to launch the inquiry and a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 5. The panels referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article or the Chairperson shall propose decisions under Article 17, or Article 19, for final adoption by the Board of Supervisors. A panel referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall present the outcome of the inquiry conducted pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 22(4) to the Board of Supervisors. 6. The Board of Supervisors shall adopt rules of procedure for the panels referred to in this Article. Article 42 - Independence of the Board of Supervisors 1. When carrying out the tasks conferred upon them by this Regulation, the members of the Board of Supervisors shall act independently and objectively in the sole interest of the Union as a whole and shall neither seek nor take instructions from Union institutions or bodies, from any government or from any other public or private body.2. Member States, Union institutions or bodies, and any other public or private body, shall not seek to influence the members of the Board of Supervisors in the performance of their tasks. 3. Members of the Board of Supervisors, the Chairperson as well as non-voting representatives and observers participating in the meetings of the Board of Supervisors shall, before such meetings, accurately and completely declare the absence or existence of any interest which might be considered prejudicial to their independence in relation to any items on the agenda, and shall abstain from participating in the discussion of, and voting upon, such points. 4. The Board of Supervisors shall lay down, in its rules of procedure, the practical arrangements for the rule on declaration of interest referred to in paragraph 3 and for the prevention and the management of conflict of interest.’; |
(34) | Article 43 is amended as follows:
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(35) | the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 43a Transparency of decisions adopted by the Board of Supervisors Notwithstanding Article 70, within six weeks of each meeting of the Board of Supervisors, the Authority shall, at least, provide the European Parliament with a comprehensive and meaningful record of the proceedings of that meeting that enables a full understanding of the discussions, including an annotated list of decisions. Such record shall not reflect discussions within the Board of Supervisors relating to individual financial institutions, unless otherwise provided for in Article 75(3) or in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2).’; |
(36) | Article 44 is amended as follows:
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(37) | Article 45 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 45 Composition 1. The Management Board shall be composed of the Chairperson and six members of the Board of Supervisors, elected by and from the voting members of the Board of Supervisors. Other than the Chairperson, each member of the Management Board shall have an alternate who may replace him if he is prevented from attending. 2. The term of office of the members elected by the Board of Supervisors shall be two-and-a-half years. That term may be extended once. The composition of the Management Board shall be gender balanced and proportionate and shall reflect the Union as a whole. Mandates shall be overlapping and an appropriate rotating arrangement shall apply. 3. Meetings of the Management Board shall be convened by the Chairperson at his or her own initiative or at the request of at least a third of its members, and shall be chaired by the Chairperson. The Management Board shall meet prior to every meeting of the Board of Supervisors and as often as the Management Board deems necessary. It shall meet at least five times a year. 4. The members of the Management Board may, subject to the rules of procedure, be assisted by advisers or experts. The non-voting members, with the exception of the Executive Director, shall not attend any discussions within the Management Board relating to individual financial institutions.’; |
(38) | the following Articles are inserted: ‘Article 45a Decision-making 1. Decisions by the Management Board shall be adopted by simple majority of its members whilst striving for consensus. Each member shall have one vote. The Chairperson shall be a voting member. 2. The Executive Director and a representative of the Commission shall participate in meetings of the Management Board without the right to vote. The representative of the Commission shall have the right to vote on matters referred to in Article 63. 3. The Management Board shall adopt and make public its rules of procedure. Article 45 - b Coordination Groups 1. The Management Board may set up coordination groups on its own initiative or upon the request of a competent authority on defined topics for which there may be a need to coordinate having regard to specific market developments. The Management Board shall set up coordination groups on defined topics at the request of five members of the Board of Supervisors.2. All competent authorities shall participate in the coordination groups and shall provide, in accordance with Article 35, to the coordination groups the information necessary in order to allow the coordination groups to conduct their coordinating tasks in accordance with their mandate. The work of the coordination groups shall be based on information provided by the competent authorities and any findings identified by the Authority. 3. The groups shall be chaired by a member of the Management Board. Each year, the respective member of the Management Board in charge of the coordination group shall report to the Board of Supervisors on the main elements of the discussions and findings and, where relevant, make a suggestion for a regulatory follow-up or a peer review in the respective area. Competent authorities shall notify the Authority as to how they have taken into account the work of coordination groups in their activities. 4. When monitoring market developments that may be the focus of coordination groups, the Authority may request competent authorities in accordance with Article 35 to provide information necessary to allow the Authority to perform its monitoring role.’; |
(39) | Article 46 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 46 Independence of the Management Board The members of the Management Board shall act independently and objectively in the sole interest of the Union as a whole and shall neither seek nor take instructions from the Union institutions or bodies, from any government or from any other public or private body. Member States, Union institutions or bodies and any other public or private body shall not seek to influence the members of the Management Board in the performance of their tasks.’; |
(40) | Article 47 is amended as follows:
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(41) | Article 48 is amended as follows:
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(42) | Article 49 is amended as follows:
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(43) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 49a Expenses The Chairperson shall make public all meetings held with external stakeholders within a period of two weeks following the meeting and any hospitality received. Expenses shall be recorded publicly in accordance with the Staff Regulations.’; |
(44) | Article 50 is deleted; |
(45) | Article 54 is amended as follows:
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(46) | Article 55 is amended as follows:
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(47) | Articles 56 and 57 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 56 Joint positions and common acts Within the scope of its tasks set out in Chapter II of this Regulation, and in particular with respect to the implementation of Directive 2002/87/EC, where relevant, the Authority shall reach joint positions by consensus with, as appropriate, the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) and with the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority). Where required by Union law, measures pursuant to Articles 10 to 16, and decisions pursuant to Articles 17, 18 and 19, of this Regulation in relation to the application of Directive 2002/87/EC and of any other legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) of this Regulation that also fall within the area of competence of the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) or the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority) shall be adopted, in parallel, by, as appropriate, the Authority, the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) and the European Supervisory Authority (European Securities and Markets Authority). Article 57 - Sub-Committees 1. The Joint Committee may establish sub-committees for the purposes of preparing draft joint positions and common acts for the Joint Committee.2. Each sub-committee shall be composed of the individuals referred to in Article 55(1), and one high-level representative from the current staff of the relevant competent authority from each Member State. 3. Each sub-Committee shall elect a chairperson from among the representatives of the relevant competent authorities, who shall also be an observer in the Joint Committee. 4. For the purposes of Article 56, a sub-committee on financial conglomerates to the Joint Committee shall be established. 5. The Joint Committee shall make public on its website all established Sub-Committees including their mandates and a list of their members with their respective functions in the sub-committee.’; |
(48) | Article 58 is amended as follows:
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(49) | in Article 59, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. Members of the Board of Appeal, and staff of the Authority providing operational and secretariat support, shall not take part in any appeal proceedings in which they have any personal interest, if they have previously been involved as representatives of one of the parties to the proceedings, or if they have participated in the decision under appeal.’; |
(50) | in Article 60, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. The appeal, together with a statement of grounds, shall be filed in writing at the Authority within three months of the date of notification of the decision to the person concerned, or, in the absence of a notification, of the day on which the Authority published its decision. The Board of Appeal shall decide upon the appeal within three months after the appeal has been lodged.’; |
(51) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 60a Exceeding of competence by the Authority Any natural or legal person may send reasoned advice to the Commission if that person is of the opinion that the Authority has exceeded its competence, including by failing to respect the principle of proportionality referred to in Article 1(5), when acting under Articles 16 and 16b, and that is of direct and individual concern to that person.’; |
(52) | in Article 62, paragraph 1 is amended as follows:
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(53) | Articles 63, 64 and 65 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 63 Establishment of the budget 1. Each year, the Executive Director shall draw up a provisional draft single programming document of the Authority for the three following financial years setting out the estimated revenue and expenditure, as well as information on staff, from its annual and multi-annual programming and shall forward it to the Management Board and the Board of Supervisors, together with the establishment plan. 2. The Board of Supervisors shall, on the basis of the draft which has been approved by the Management Board, adopt the draft single programming document for the three following financial years. 3. The single programming document shall be transmitted by the Management Board to the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council and to the European Court of Auditors by 31 January. 4. Taking account of the single programming document, the Commission shall enter in the draft budget of the Union the estimates it deems necessary in respect of the establishment plan and the amount of the balancing contribution to be charged to the general budget of the Union in accordance with Articles 313 and 314 TFEU. 5. The European Parliament and the Council shall adopt the establishment plan for the Authority. The European Parliament and the Council shall authorise the appropriations for the balancing contribution to the Authority. 6. The budget of the Authority shall be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. It shall become final after the final adoption of the general budget of the Union. Where necessary, it shall be adjusted accordingly. 7. The Management Board shall, without undue delay, notify the European Parliament and the Council of its intention to implement any project which may have significant financial implications for the funding of its budget, in particular any project relating to property, such as the rental or purchase of buildings. 8. Without prejudice to Articles 266 and 267 of the Financial Regulation, authorisation from the European Parliament and the Council shall be required for any project which may have significant financial or long- term implications for the funding of the Authority’s budget, in particular any project relating to property, such as the rental or purchase of buildings, including break clauses. Article 64 - Implementation and control of the budget 1. The Executive Director shall act as authorising officer and shall implement the Authority’s annual budget.2. The Authority’s accounting officer shall send the provisional accounts to the Commission’s accounting officer and to the Court of Auditors by 1 March of the following year. Article 70 shall not preclude the Authority from providing to the Court of Auditors any information requested by the Court of Auditors that is within its competence. 3. The Authority’s accounting officer shall send, by 1 March of the following year, the required accounting information for consolidation purposes to the accounting officer of the Commission, in the manner and format laid down by that accounting officer. 4. The Authority’s accounting officer shall also send, by 31 March of the following year, the report on budgetary and financial management to the members of the Board of Supervisors, to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Court of Auditors. 5. After receiving the observations of the Court of Auditors on the provisional accounts of the Authority in accordance with Article 246 of the Financial Regulation, the Authority’s accounting officer shall draw up the Authority’s final accounts. The Executive Director shall send them to the Board of Supervisors, which shall deliver an opinion on those accounts. 6. The Authority’s accounting officer shall, by 1 July of the following year, send the final accounts, accompanied by the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, to the accounting officer of the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors. The Authority’s accounting officer shall also send, by 15 June each year, a reporting package to the Commission’s accounting officer, in a standardised format as laid down by the Commission’s accounting officer for consolidation purposes. 7. The final accounts shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by 15 November of the following year. 8. The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to the latter’s observations by 30 September and shall also send a copy of that reply to the Management Board and to the Commission. 9. The Executive Director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the latter’s request and as provided for in Article 261(3) of the Financial Regulation, any information necessary for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question. 10. The European Parliament, following a recommendation from the Council acting by qualified majority, shall, before 15 May of the year N + 2, grant a discharge to the Authority for the implementation of the budget for the financial year N. 11. The Authority shall provide a reasoned opinion on the position of the European Parliament and on any other observations made by the European Parliament provided in the discharge procedure. Article 65 - Financial rules The financial rules applicable to the Authority shall be adopted by the Management Board after consulting the Commission. Those rules may not depart from Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 (*35) unless the specific operational needs for the functioning of the Authority so require and only with the prior agreement of the Commission.(*35) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 122, 10.5.2019, p. 1).’;" |
(54) | in Article 66, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. For the purposes of combating fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*36) shall apply to the Authority without any restriction. (*36) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).’;" |
(55) | Article 70 is amended as follows:
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(56) | Article 71 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 71 Data protection This Regulation shall be without prejudice to the obligations of Member States relating to their processing of personal data under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or the obligations of the Authority relating to its processing of personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*38) when fulfilling its responsibilities. (*38) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).’;" |
(57) | in Article 72, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. The Management Board shall adopt practical measures for applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.’; |
(58) | in Article 74, the first paragraph is replaced by the following: ‘The necessary arrangements concerning the accommodation to be provided for the Authority in the Member State where its seat is located and the facilities to be made available by that Member State, as well as the specific rules applicable in that Member State to the staff of the Authority and members of their families, shall be laid down in a Headquarters Agreement between the Authority and that Member State which they concluded after obtaining the approval of the Management Board.’; |
(59) | Article 76 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 76 Relationship with the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors The Authority shall be considered the legal successor of the Committee of European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Supervisors (CEIOPS). By the date of establishment of the Authority, all assets and liabilities and all pending operations of CEIOPS shall be automatically transferred to the Authority. CEIOPS shall establish a statement showing its closing asset and liability situation as of the date of that transfer. That statement shall be audited and approved by CEIOPS and by the Commission.’; |
(60) | Article 81 is amended as follows:
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Article 3 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010
(1) | Article 1 is amended as follows:
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(2) | Article 2 is amended as follows:
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(3) | Article 3 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 3 Accountability of the Authorities 1. The Authorities referred to in points (a) to (d) of Article 2(2) shall be accountable to the European Parliament and to the Council. 2. In accordance with Article 226 TFEU, the Authority shall fully cooperate with the European Parliament during any investigation carried out under that Article. 3. The Board of Supervisors shall adopt an annual report on the activities of the Authority, including on the performance of the Chairperson’s duties, and shall, by 15 June each year, transmit that report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission, to the Court of Auditors and to the European Economic and Social Committee. The report shall be made public. 4. At the request of the European Parliament, the Chairperson shall participate in a hearing before the European Parliament on the performance of the Authority. A hearing shall take place at least annually. The Chairperson shall make a statement before the European Parliament and answer any questions from its members, whenever so requested. 5. The Chairperson shall report in writing on the activities of the Authority to the European Parliament when requested and at least 15 days before making the statement referred to in paragraph 4. 6. In addition to the information referred to in Articles 11 to 18 and Articles 20 and 33, the report shall also include any relevant information requested by the European Parliament on an ad hoc basis. 7. The Authority shall reply orally or in writing to any question addressed to it by the European Parliament or by the Council within five weeks of its receipt. 8. Upon request, the Chairperson shall hold confidential oral discussions behind closed doors with the Chair, Vice-Chairs and Coordinators of the competent committee of the European Parliament. All participants shall respect the requirements of professional secrecy. 9. Without prejudice to its confidentiality obligations stemming from participation in international fora, the Authority shall inform the European Parliament upon request about its contribution to a united, common, consistent and effective representation of the Union’s interests in such international fora.’; |
(4) | in Article 4, point (3), point (ii) is replaced by the following:
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(5) | in Article 7, the following paragraph is added: ‘The location of the seat of the Authority shall not affect the Authority’s execution of its tasks and powers, the organisation of its governance structure, the operation of its main organisation, or the main financing of its activities, while allowing, where applicable, for the sharing with Union agencies of administrative support services and facility management services which are not related to the core activities of the Authority.’; |
(6) | Article 8 is amended as follows:
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(7) | Article 9 is amended as follows:
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(8) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 9a No action letters 1. The Authority shall take the measures referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article only in exceptional circumstances when it considers that the application of one of the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), or of any delegated or implementing acts based on those legislative acts, is liable to raise significant issues, for one of the following reasons:
2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 1, the Authority shall send a detailed account in writing to the competent authorities and the Commission of the issues it considers to exist. In the cases referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1, the Authority shall provide the Commission with an opinion on any action it considers appropriate, in the form of a new legislative proposal or a proposal for a new delegated or implementing act, and on the urgency that, in the Authority’s judgment, is attached to the issue. The Authority shall make its opinion public. In the case referred to in point (c) of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Authority shall evaluate as soon as possible the need to adopt relevant guidelines or recommendations in accordance with Article 16. The Authority shall act expeditiously, in particular with a view to contributing to the prevention of the issues as referred to in paragraph 1, whenever possible. 3. Where necessary in the cases referred to in paragraph 1, and pending the adoption and application of new measures following the steps referred to in paragraph 2, the Authority shall issue opinions regarding specific provisions of the acts referred to in paragraph 1 with a view to furthering consistent, efficient and effective supervisory and enforcement practices, and the common, uniform and consistent application of Union law. 4. Where, on the basis of information received, in particular from competent authorities, the Authority considers that any of the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), or any delegated or implementing act based on those legislative acts, raises significant exceptional issues pertaining to market confidence, customer or investor protection, the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or commodity markets, or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system in the Union, it shall, without undue delay, send a detailed account in writing to the competent authorities and the Commission of the issues it considers to exist. The Authority may provide the Commission with an opinion on any action it considers appropriate, in the form of a new legislative proposal or a proposal for a new delegated or implementing act, and on the urgency of the issue. The Authority shall make its opinion public.’; |
(9) | Article 10 is amended as follows:
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(10) | in Article 13(1), the second subparagraph is deleted; |
(11) | Article 15 is amended as follows:
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(12) | Article 16 is amended as follows:
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(13) | the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 16a Opinions 1. The Authority may, upon a request from the European Parliament, from the Council or from the Commission, or on its own initiative, provide opinions to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on all issues related to its area of competence. 2. The request referred to in paragraph 1 may include a public consultation or a technical analysis. 3. With regard to the prudential assessment of mergers and acquisitions falling within the scope of Directive 2014/65/EU and which according to that Directive require consultation between competent authorities from two or more Member States, the Authority may, at the request of one of the competent authorities concerned, issue and publish an opinion on a prudential assessment, except in relation to the criteria set out in in point (e) of Article 13(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU. The opinion shall be issued promptly and, in any event, before the end of the assessment period in accordance with Directive 2014/65/EU. 4. The Authority may, upon a request from the European Parliament, from the Council or from the Commission provide technical advice to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission in the areas set out in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). Article 16 - b Questions and answers 1. Without prejudice to paragraph 5 of this Article, questions relating to the practical application or implementation of the provisions of legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), associated delegated and implementing acts, and guidelines and recommendations, adopted pursuant to those legislative acts, may be submitted by any natural or legal person, including competent authorities and Union institutions and bodies, to the Authority in any official language of the Union.Before submitting a question to the Authority, financial market participants shall consider whether to address the question in the first place to their competent authority. Before publishing answers to admissible questions, the Authority may seek further clarification on questions asked by the natural or legal person referred to in this paragraph. 2. Answers by the Authority to questions as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be non-binding. Answers shall be made available at least in the language in which the question was submitted. 3. The Authority shall establish and maintain a web-based tool available on its website for the submission of questions and the timely publication of all questions received as well as all answers to all admissible questions pursuant to paragraph 1, unless such publication is in conflict with the legitimate interest of those persons or would involve risks to the stability of the financial system. The Authority may reject questions it does not intend to answer. Rejected questions shall be published by the Authority on its website for a period of two months. 4. Three voting members of the Board of Supervisors may request the Board of Supervisors to decide pursuant to Article 44 whether to address the issue of the admissible question referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in guidelines pursuant to Article 16, to request advice from the Stakeholder Group referred to in Article 37, to review questions and answers at appropriate intervals, to conduct open public consultations or to analyse potential related costs and benefits. Such consultations and analyses shall be proportionate in relation to the scope, nature and impact of the draft questions and answers concerned or in relation to the particular urgency of the matter. When involving the Stakeholder Group referred to in Article 37, a duty of confidentiality shall apply. 5. The Authority shall forward questions that require the interpretation of Union law to the Commission. The Authority shall publish any answers provided by the Commission.’; |
(14) | Article 17 is amended as follows:
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(15) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 17a Protection of reporting persons 1. The Authority shall have in place dedicated reporting channels for receiving and handling information provided by a natural or legal person reporting on actual or potential breaches, abuse of law, or non-application of Union law. 2. The natural or legal persons reporting through those channels shall be protected against retaliation in accordance with Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*45), where applicable. 3. The Authority shall ensure that all information may be submitted anonymously or confidentially, and safely. Where the Authority deems that the submitted information contains evidence or significant indications of a material breach, it shall provide feedback to the reporting person. (*45) Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (OJ L 305, 26.11.2019, p. 17).’;" |
(16) | in Article 18, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. Where the Council has adopted a decision pursuant to paragraph 2 of this Article, and in exceptional circumstances, where coordinated action by competent authorities is necessary to respond to adverse developments which may seriously jeopardise the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system in the Union or customer and investor protection, the Authority may adopt individual decisions requiring competent authorities to take the necessary action in accordance with the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) to address any such developments by ensuring that financial market participants and competent authorities satisfy the requirements laid down in those legislative acts.’; |
(17) | Article 19 is amended as follows:
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(18) | Article 21 is amended as follows:
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(19) | Article 22 is amended as follows:
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(20) | in Article 23, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. The Authority shall, in consultation with the ESRB, develop criteria for the identification and measurement of systemic risk and an adequate stress-testing regime which includes an evaluation of the potential for systemic risk posed by, or to, financial market participants to increase in situations of stress, including potential environmental-related systemic risk. The financial market participants that may pose a systemic risk shall be subject to strengthened supervision, and where necessary, the recovery and resolution procedures referred to in Article 25.’; |
(21) | in Article 27(2), the second subparagraph is deleted; |
(22) | Article 29 is amended as follows:
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(23) | the following Article is inserted: ‘Article 29a Union strategic supervisory priorities Following a discussion in the Board of Supervisors and taking into account contributions received from competent authorities, existing work by the Union institutions, and analysis, warnings and recommendations published by the ESRB, the Authority shall, at least every three years, by 31 March, identify up to two priorities of Union-wide relevance which shall reflect future developments and trends. Competent authorities shall take those priorities into account when drawing up their work programmes and shall notify the Authority accordingly. The Authority shall discuss the relevant activities by the competent authorities in the following year and draw conclusions. The Authority shall discuss possible follow up which may include guidelines, recommendations to competent authorities, and peer reviews, in the respective area. The priorities of Union-wide relevance identified by the Authority shall not prevent competent authorities from applying their best practices, acting on their additional priorities and developments, and national specificities shall be considered.’; |
(24) | Article 30 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 30 Peer reviews of competent authorities 1. The Authority shall periodically conduct peer reviews of some or all of the activities of competent authorities, to further strengthen consistency and effectiveness in supervisory outcomes. To that end, the Authority shall develop methods to allow for an objective assessment and comparison between the competent authorities reviewed. When planning and conducting peer reviews, existing information and evaluations already made with regard to the competent authority concerned, including any relevant information provided to the Authority in accordance with Article 35, and any relevant information from stakeholders shall be taken into account. 2. For the purposes of this Article, the Authority shall establish ad hoc peer review committees, which shall be composed of staff from the Authority and members of the competent authorities. The peer review committees shall be chaired by a member of the Authority’s staff. The Chairperson, after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation, shall propose the chair and the members of a peer review committee which shall be approved by the Board of Supervisors. The proposal shall be deemed to be approved unless, within 10 days of the Chairperson proposing it, the Board of Supervisors adopts a decision to reject it. 3. The peer review shall include an assessment of, but shall not be limited to:
4. The Authority shall produce a report setting out the results of the peer review. That peer review report shall be prepared by the peer review committee and adopted by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with Article 44(4). When drafting that report, the peer review committee shall consult the Management Board in order to maintain consistency with other peer review reports and to ensure a level playing field. The Management Board shall assess in particular whether the methodology has been applied in the same manner. The report shall explain and indicate the follow-up measures that are deemed appropriate, proportionate and necessary as a result of the peer review. Those follow-up measures may be adopted in the form of guidelines and recommendations pursuant to Article 16 and opinions pursuant to point (a) of Article 29(1). In accordance with Article 16(3), the competent authorities shall make every effort to comply with any guidelines and recommendations issued. When developing draft regulatory technical standards or draft implementing technical standards in accordance with Articles 10 to 15, or guidelines or recommendations in accordance with Article 16, the Authority shall take into account the outcome of the peer review, along with any other information acquired by the Authority in carrying out its tasks, in order to ensure convergence of the highest quality supervisory practices. 5. The Authority shall submit an opinion to the Commission where, having regard to the outcome of the peer review or to any other information acquired by the Authority in carrying out its tasks, it considers that further harmonisation of Union rules applicable to financial market participants or competent authorities would be necessary from the Union’s perspective. 6. The Authority shall undertake a follow-up report after two years of the publication of the peer review report. The follow-up report shall be prepared by the peer review committee and adopted by the Board of Supervisors in accordance with Article 44(4). When drafting that report, the peer review committee shall consult the Management Board in order to maintain consistency with other follow up reports. The follow-up report shall include an assessment of, but shall not be limited to, the adequacy and effectiveness of the actions undertaken by the competent authorities that are subject to the peer review in response to the follow up measures of the peer review report. 7. The peer review committee shall, after consulting the competent authorities subject to the peer review, identify the reasoned main findings of the peer review. The Authority shall publish the reasoned main findings of the peer review and of the follow-up report referred to in paragraph 6. Where the reasoned main findings of the Authority differ from those identified by the peer review committee, the Authority shall transmit, on a confidential basis, the peer review committee’s findings to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Commission. Where a competent authority that is subject to the peer review is concerned that the publication of the Authority’s reasoned main findings would pose a risk to the stability of the financial system, it shall have the possibility to refer the matter to the Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors may decide not to publish those extracts. 8. For the purposes of this Article the Management Board shall make a proposal for a peer review work plan for the coming two years, which shall inter alia reflect the lessons learnt from the past peer re-view processes and the discussions of coordination groups referred to in Article 45b. The peer review work plan shall constitute a separate part of the annual and multiannual working programme. It shall be made public. In case of urgency or unforeseen events, the Authority may decide to carry out additional peer reviews.’; |
(25) | Article 31 is amended as follows:
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(26) | the following Articles are inserted: ‘Article 31a Information exchange on fitness and propriety The Authority shall, together with the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) and with the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority), establish a system for the exchange of information relevant to the assessment of the fitness and propriety of holders of qualifying holdings, directors and key function holders of financial market participant by competent authorities in accordance with the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). Article 31 - b Coordination function in relation to orders, transactions and activities with significant cross-border effects Where a competent authority has evidence or clear indications from several different sources to suspect that orders, transactions or any other activity with significant cross-border effects threaten the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or the financial stability in the Union, it shall promptly notify the Authority and provide the relevant information. The Authority may issue an opinion on appropriate follow-up to the competent authorities of the Member States where the suspected activity has occurred.’; |
(27) | Article 32 is amended as follows:
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(28) | Article 33 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 33 International relations including equivalence 1. Without prejudice to the respective competences of the Member States and the Union institutions, the Authority may develop contacts and enter into administrative arrangements with regulatory and supervisory authorities, international organisations and third-country administrations. Those arrangements shall not create legal obligations in respect of the Union and its Member States nor shall they prevent Member States and their competent authorities from concluding bilateral or multilateral arrangements with those third countries. Where a third country, in accordance with a delegated act, which is in force, adopted by the Commission pursuant to Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2015/849, is on the list of jurisdictions which have strategic deficiencies in their national anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism regimes that pose significant threats to the financial system of the Union, the Authority shall not conclude administrative arrangements with the regulatory and supervisory authorities of that third country. This shall not preclude other forms of cooperation between the Authority and the respective third-country authorities with a view to reduce threats to the financial system of the Union. 2. The Authority shall assist the Commission in preparing equivalence decisions pertaining to regulatory and supervisory regimes in third countries following a specific request for advice from the Commission or where required to do so by the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). 3. The Authority shall monitor, with a particular focus on their implications for financial stability, market integrity, investor protection and the functioning of the internal market, relevant regulatory and supervisory developments and enforcement practices and market developments in third countries, to the extent they are relevant to risk-based equivalence assessments, for which equivalence decisions have been adopted by the Commission pursuant to the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2). Furthermore, it shall verify whether the criteria, on the basis of which those equivalence decisions have been taken, and any conditions set out therein, are still fulfilled. The Authority may liaise with relevant authorities in third countries. The Authority shall submit a confidential report to the European Parliament, to the Council, to the Commission and to the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) and to the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) summarising the findings of its monitoring of all equivalent third countries. The report shall focus in particular on implications for financial stability, market integrity, investor protection or the functioning of the internal market. Where the Authority identifies relevant developments in relation to the regulation and supervision or the enforcement practices in the third countries referred to in this paragraph that may affect the financial stability of the Union or of one or more of its Member States, market integrity, investor protection or the functioning of the internal market, it shall inform the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on a confidential basis and without undue delay. 4. Without prejudice to specific requirements set out in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) and subject to the conditions set out in the second sentence of paragraph 1 of this Article, the Authority shall cooperate where possible with the relevant competent authorities, of third countries whose regulatory and supervisory regimes have been recognised as equivalent. In principle, that cooperation shall be pursued on the basis of administrative arrangements concluded with the relevant authorities of those third countries. When negotiating such administrative arrangements, the Authority shall include provisions on the following:
The Authority shall inform the Commission where a third-country competent authority refuses to conclude such administrative arrangements or when it refuses to effectively cooperate. 5. The Authority may develop model administrative arrangements, with a view to establishing consistent, efficient and effective supervisory practices within the Union and to strengthening international supervisory coordination. The competent authorities shall make every effort to follow such model arrangements. In the report referred to in Article 43(5), the Authority shall include information on the administrative arrangements agreed upon with supervisory authorities, international organisations or administrations in third countries, the assistance provided by the Authority to the Commission in preparing equivalence decisions and the monitoring by the Authority in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article. 6. The Authority shall, within its powers pursuant to this Regulation and to the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2), contribute to the united, common, consistent and effective representation of the Union’s interests in international fora.’; |
(29) | Article 34 is deleted; |
(30) | Article 36 is amended as follows:
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(31) | Article 37 is amended as follows:
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(32) | Article 39 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 39 Decision-making procedures 1. The Authority shall act in accordance with paragraphs 2 to 6 of this Article when adopting decisions pursuant to Articles 17, 18 and 19. 2. The Authority shall inform any addressee of a decision of its intention to adopt the decision, in the official language of the addressee, setting a time limit within which the addressee may express its views on the subject-matter of the decision, taking full account of the urgency, complexity and potential consequences of the matter. The addressee may express its views in its official language. The provision laid down in the first sentence shall apply mutatis mutandis to recommendations as referred to in Article 17(3). 3. The decisions of the Authority shall state the reasons on which they are based. 4. The addressees of decisions of the Authority shall be informed of the legal remedies available under this Regulation. 5. Where the Authority has taken a decision pursuant to Article 18(3) or 18(4), it shall review that decision at appropriate intervals. 6. The decisions which the Authority takes pursuant to Article 17, 18 or 19 shall be made public. The publication shall disclose the identity of the competent authority or financial market participant concerned and the main content of the decision, unless such publication is in conflict with the legitimate interest of those financial market participants, or with the protection of their business secrets, or could seriously jeopardise the orderly functioning and integrity of financial markets or the stability of the whole or part of the financial system of the Union.’; |
(33) | Article 40 is amended as follows
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(34) | Articles 41 and 42 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 41 Internal committees 1. The Board of Supervisors on its own initiative or at the request of the Chairperson may establish internal committees for specific tasks attributed to it. Upon request from the Management Board or from the Chairperson, the Board of Supervisors may establish internal committees for specific tasks attributed to the Management Board. The Board of Supervisors may provide for the delegation of certain clearly defined tasks and decisions to internal committees, to the Management Board or to the Chairperson. 2. For the purposes of Article 17, the Chairperson shall propose a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. The six other members shall not be representatives of the competent authority alleged to have breached Union law and shall not have any interest in the matter or direct links to the competent authority concerned. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 3. For the purposes of Article 19 the Chairperson shall propose a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. The six other members shall not be representatives of the competent authorities party to the disagreement and shall not have any interest in the conflict or direct links to the competent authorities concerned. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 4. For the purposes of conducting the inquiry provided for in the first subparagraph of Article 22(4), the Chairperson may propose a decision to launch the inquiry and a decision to convene an independent panel, to be adopted by the Board of Supervisor. The independent panel shall consist of the Chairperson and six other members, to be proposed by the Chairperson after consulting the Management Board and following an open call for participation. Each member of the panel shall have one vote. Decisions of the panel shall be taken where at least four members vote in favour. 5. The panels referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article or the Chairperson shall propose decisions under Article 17, or Article 19, for final adoption by the Board of Supervisors. A panel referred to in paragraph 4 of this Article shall present the outcome of the inquiry conducted pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 22(4) to the Board of Supervisors. 6. The Board of Supervisors shall adopt rules of procedure for the panels referred to in this Article. Article 42 - Independence of the Board of Supervisors 1. When carrying out the tasks conferred upon them by this Regulation, the members of the Board of Supervisors shall act independently and objectively in the sole interest of the Union as a whole and shall neither seek nor take instructions from Union institutions or bodies, from any government or from any other public or private body.2. Member States, Union institutions or bodies and any other public or private body, shall not seek to influence the members of the Board of Supervisors in the performance of their tasks. 3. Members of the Board of Supervisors, the Chairperson as well as non-voting representatives and observers participating in the meetings of the Board of Supervisors shall, before such meetings, accurately and completely declare the absence or existence of any interest which might be considered prejudicial to their independence in relation to any items on the agenda, and shall abstain from participating in the discussion of, and voting upon, such points. 4. The Board of Supervisors shall lay down, in its rules of procedure, the practical arrangements for the rule on declaration of interest referred to in paragraph 3 and for the prevention and the management of conflict of interest.’; |
(35) | Article 43 is amended as follows:
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(36) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 43a Transparency of decisions adopted by the Board of Supervisors Notwithstanding Article 70, within six weeks of each meeting of the Board of Supervisors, the Authority shall, at least, provide the European Parliament with a comprehensive and meaningful record of the proceedings of that meeting that enables a full understanding of the discussions, including an annotated list of decisions. Such record shall not reflect discussions within the Board of Supervisors relating to individual financial market participants, unless otherwise provided for in Article 75(3) or in the legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2).’; |
(37) | Article 44 is amended as follows:
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(38) | Article 45 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 45 Composition 1. The Management Board shall be composed of the Chairperson and six members of the Board of Supervisors, elected by and from the voting members of the Board of Supervisors. Other than the Chairperson, each member of the Management Board shall have an alternate, who may replace him or her if he or she is prevented from attending. 2. The term of office of the members elected by the Board of Supervisors shall be two-and-a-half years. That term may be extended once. The composition of the Management Board shall be gender balanced and proportionate and shall reflect the Union as a whole. Mandates shall be overlapping and an appropriate rotating arrangement shall apply 3. Meetings of the Management Board shall be convened by the Chairperson at his or her own initiative or at the request of at least a third of its members, and shall be chaired by the Chairperson. The Management Board shall meet prior to every meeting of the Board of Supervisors and as often as the Management Board deems necessary. It shall meet at least five times a year. 4. The members of the Management Board may, subject to the rules of procedure, be assisted by advisers or experts. The non-voting members, with the exception of the Executive Director, shall not attend any discussions within the Management Board relating to individual financial market participants.’; |
(39) | the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 45a Decision-making 1. Decisions by the Management Board shall be adopted by simple majority of its members whilst striving for consensus. Each member shall have one vote. The Chairperson shall be a voting member. 2. The Executive Director and a representative of the Commission shall participate in meetings of the Management Board without the right to vote. The representative of the Commission shall have the right to vote on matters referred to in Article 63. 3. The Management Board shall adopt and make public its rules of procedure. Article 45 - b Coordination Groups 1. The Management Board may set up coordination groups on its own initiative or upon the request of a competent authority on defined topics for which there may be a need to coordinate having regard to specific market developments. The Management Board shall set up coordination groups on defined topics at the request of five members of the Board of Supervisors.2. All competent authorities shall participate in the coordination groups and shall provide, in accordance with Article 35, to the coordination groups the information necessary in order to allow the coordination groups to conduct their coordinating tasks in accordance with their mandate. The work of the coordination groups shall be based on information provided by the competent authorities and any findings identified by the Authority. 3. The groups shall be chaired by a member of the Management Board. Each year, the respective member of the Management Board in charge of the coordination group shall report to the Board of Supervisors on the main elements of the discussions and findings and, where relevant, make a suggestion for a regulatory follow-up or a peer review in the respective area. Competent authorities shall notify the Authority as to how they have taken into account the work of coordination groups in their activities. 4. When monitoring market developments that may be the focus of coordination groups, the Authority may request competent authorities in accordance with Article 35 to provide information necessary to allow the Authority to perform its monitoring role.’; |
(40) | Article 46 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 46 Independence of the Management Board The members of the Management Board shall act independently and objectively in the sole interest of the Union as a whole and shall neither seek nor take instructions from the Union institutions or bodies, from any government or from any other public or private body. Member States, Union institutions or bodies and any other public or private body shall not seek to influence the members of the Management Board in the performance of their tasks.’; |
(41) | Article 47 is amended as follows:
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(42) | Article 48 is amended as follows:
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(43) | Article 49 is amended as follows:
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(44) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 49a Expenses The Chairperson shall make public all meetings held with external stakeholders within a period of two weeks following the meeting and any hospitality received. Expenses shall be recorded publicly in accordance with the Staff Regulations.’; |
(45) | Article 50 is deleted; |
(46) | Article 54 is amended as follows:
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(47) | Article 55 is amended as follows:
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(48) | Articles 56 and 57 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 56 Joint positions and common acts Within the scope of its tasks set out in Chapter II of this Regulation, and, in particular with respect to the implementation of Directive 2002/87/EC, where relevant, the Authority shall reach joint positions by consensus with, as appropriate, the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) and with the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority). Where required by Union law, measures pursuant to Articles 10 to 16, and decisions pursuant to Articles 17, 18 and 19, of this Regulation in relation to the application of Directive 2002/87/EC and of any other legislative acts referred to in Article 1(2) of this Regulation that also fall within the area of competence of the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) or the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority) shall be adopted, in parallel, by, as appropriate, the Authority, the European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) and the European Supervisory Authority (European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority),. Article 57 - Sub-Committees 1. The Joint Committee may establish sub-committees for the purposes of preparing draft joint positions and common acts for the Joint Committee.2. Each sub-committee shall be composed of the individuals referred to in Article 55(1), and one high-level representative from the current staff of the relevant competent authority from each Member State. 3. Each sub-committee shall elect a chairperson from among the representatives of the relevant competent authorities, who shall also be an observer in the Joint Committee. 4. For the purposes of Article 56, a sub-committee on financial conglomerates to the Joint Committee shall be established. 5. The Joint Committee shall make public on its website all established sub-committees including their mandates and a list of their members with their respective functions in the sub-committee.’; |
(49) | Article 58 is amended as follows:
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(50) | in Article 59, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. Members of the Board of Appeal, and staff of the Authority providing operational and secretariat support, shall not take part in any appeal proceedings in which they have any personal interest, if they have previously been involved as representatives of one of the parties to the proceedings, or if they have participated in the decision under appeal.’; |
(51) | in Article 60, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. The appeal, together with a statement of grounds, shall be filed in writing at the Authority within three months of the date of notification of the decision to the person concerned, or, in the absence of a notification, of the day on which the Authority published its decision. The Board of Appeal shall decide upon the appeal within three months after the appeal has been lodged.’; |
(52) | the following article is inserted: ‘Article 60a Exceeding of competence by the Authority Any natural or legal person may send reasoned advice to the Commission if that person is of the opinion that the Authority has exceeded its competence, including by failing to respect the principle of proportionality referred to in Article 1(5), when acting under Articles 16 and 16b, and that is of direct and individual concern to that person.’; |
(53) | in Article 62, paragraph 1 is amended as follows:
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(54) | Articles 63, 64 and 65 are replaced by the following: ‘Article 63 Establishment of the budget 1. Each year, the Executive Director shall draw up a provisional draft single programming document of the Authority for the three following financial years setting out the estimated revenue and expenditure, as well as information on staff, from its annual and multi-annual programming and shall forward it to the Management Board and the Board of Supervisors, together with the establishment plan. 2. The Board of Supervisors shall, on the basis of the draft which has been approved by the Management Board, adopt the draft single programming document for the three following financial years. 3. The single programming document shall be transmitted by the Management Board to the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council and to the European Court of Auditors by 31 January. 4. Taking account of the single programming document, the Commission shall enter in the draft budget of the Union the estimates it deems necessary in respect of the establishment plan and the amount of the balancing contribution to be charged to the general budget of the Union in accordance with Articles 313 and 314 TFEU. 5. The European Parliament and the Council shall adopt the establishment plan for the Authority. The European Parliament and the Council shall authorise the appropriations for the balancing contribution to the Authority. 6. The budget of the Authority shall be adopted by the Board of Supervisors. It shall become final after the final adoption of the general budget of the Union. Where necessary, it shall be adjusted accordingly. 7. The Management Board shall, without undue delay, notify the European Parliament and the Council of its intention to implement any project which may have significant financial implications for the funding of its budget, in particular any project relating to property, such as the rental or purchase of buildings. 8. Without prejudice to Articles 266 and 267 of the Financial Regulation, authorisation from the European Parliament and the Council shall be required for any project which may have significant financial or long- term implications for the funding of the Authority’s budget, in particular any project relating to property, such as the rental or purchase of buildings, including break clauses. Article 64 - Implementation and control of the budget 1. The Executive Director shall act as authorising officer and shall implement the Authority’s annual budget.2. The Authority’s accounting officer shall send the provisional accounts to the Commission’s accounting officer and to the Court of Auditors by 1 March of the following year. Article 70 shall not preclude the Authority from providing to the Court of Auditors any information requested by the Court that is within its competence. 3. The Authority’s accounting officer shall send, by 1 March of the following year, the required accounting information for consolidation purposes to the accounting officer of the Commission, in the manner and format laid down by that accounting officer. 4. The Authority’s accounting officer shall also send, by 31 March of the following year, the report on budgetary and financial management to the members of the Board of Supervisors, to the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Court of Auditors. 5. After receiving the observations of the Court of Auditors on the provisional accounts of the Authority in accordance with Article 246 of the Financial Regulation, the Authority’s accounting officer shall draw up the Authority’s final accounts. The Executive Director shall send them to the Board of Supervisors, which shall deliver an opinion on those accounts. 6. The Authority’s accounting officer shall, by 1 July of the following year, send the final accounts, accompanied by the opinion of the Board of Supervisors, to the accounting officer of the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the Court of Auditors. The Authority’s accounting officer shall also send, by 15 June each year, a reporting package to the Commission’s accounting officer, in a standardised format as laid down by the Commission’s accounting officer for consolidation purposes. 7. The final accounts shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by 15 November of the following year. 8. The Executive Director shall send the Court of Auditors a reply to the latter’s observations by 30 September and shall also send a copy of that reply to the Management Board and to the Commission. 9. The Executive Director shall submit to the European Parliament, at the latter’s request and as provided for in Article 261(3) of the Financial Regulation, any information necessary for the smooth application of the discharge procedure for the financial year in question. 10. The European Parliament, following a recommendation from the Council acting by qualified majority, shall, before 15 May of the year N + 2, grant a discharge to the Authority for the implementation of the budget for the financial year N. 11. The Authority shall provide a reasoned opinion on the position of the European Parliament and on any other observations made by the European Parliament provided in the discharge procedure. Article 65 - Financial rules The financial rules applicable to the Authority shall be adopted by the Management Board after consulting the Commission. Those rules may not depart from Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 (*48) unless the specific operational needs for the functioning of the Authority so require and only with the prior agreement of the Commission.(*48) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/715 of 18 December 2018 on the framework financial regulation for the bodies set up under the TFEU and Euratom Treaty and referred to in Article 70 of Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 122, 10.5.2019, p. 1).’;" |
(55) | in Article 66, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. For the purposes of combating fraud, corruption and any other illegal activity, Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*49) shall apply to the Authority without any restriction. (*49) Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 883/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 September 2013 concerning investigations conducted by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1073/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (Euratom) No 1074/1999 (OJ L 248, 18.9.2013, p. 1).’;" |
(56) | Article 70 is amended as follows:
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(57) | Article 71 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 71 Data protection This Regulation shall be without prejudice to the obligations of Member States relating to their processing of personal data under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or the obligations of the Authority relating to its processing of personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*51) when fulfilling its responsibilities. (*51) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).’;" |
(58) | in Article 72, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. The Management Board shall adopt practical measures for applying Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001.’; |
(59) | in Article 74, the first paragraph is replaced by the following: ‘The necessary arrangements concerning the accommodation to be provided for the Authority in the Member State where its seat is located and the facilities to be made available by that Member State, as well as the specific rules applicable in that Member State to the staff of the Authority and members of their families, shall be laid down in a Headquarters Agreement between the Authority and that Member State which they concluded after obtaining the approval of the Management Board.’; |
(60) | Article 76 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 76 Relationship with the Committee of European Securities Regulators The Authority shall be considered the legal successor of the Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR). By the date of establishment of the Authority, all assets and liabilities and all pending operations of CESR shall be automatically transferred to the Authority. CESR shall establish a statement showing its closing asset and liability situation as of the date of that transfer. That statement shall be audited and approved by CESR and by the Commission.’; |
(61) | Article 81 is amended as follows:
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Article 4 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) No 600/2014
(1) | in Article 1(1), the following point is added:
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(2) | Article 2 is amended as follows:
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(3) | Article 22 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 22 Providing information for the purposes of transparency and other calculations 1. In order to carry out calculations for determining the requirements for the pre- and post-trade transparency and the trading obligation regimes referred to in Articles 3 to 11, Articles 14 to 21 and Article 32, which are applicable to financial instruments and for determining whether an investment firm is a systematic internaliser, ESMA and competent authorities may require information from:
2. Trading venues, APAs and CTPs shall store the necessary data for a sufficient period. 3. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify the content and frequency of data requests and the formats and the timeframe in which trading venues, APAs and CTPs are to respond to data requests referred to in paragraph 1, the type of data that is to be stored, and the minimum period for which trading venues, APAs and CTPs are to store data in order to be able to respond to data requests in accordance with paragraph 2. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.’; |
(4) | in Article 26(1), the third subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘The competent authorities shall without undue delay make available to ESMA any information reported in accordance with this Article.’; |
(5) | Article 27 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 27 Obligation to supply financial instrument reference data 1. With regard to financial instruments admitted to trading on regulated markets or traded on MTFs or OTFs, trading venues shall provide ESMA with identifying reference data for the purpose of transaction reporting under Article 26. With regard to other financial instruments covered by Article 26(2) traded on its system, each systematic internaliser shall provide ESMA with reference data relating to those financial instruments. Identifying reference data shall be made ready for submission to ESMA in an electronic and standardised format before trading commences in the financial instrument that it refers to. The financial instrument reference data shall be updated whenever there are changes to the data with respect to a financial instrument. ESMA shall publish those reference data immediately on its website. ESMA shall give competent authorities access without undue delay to those reference data. 2. In order to allow competent authorities to monitor, pursuant to Article 26, the activities of investment firms to ensure that they act honestly, fairly and professionally and in a manner which promotes the integrity of the market, ESMA shall, after consulting the competent authorities, establish the necessary arrangements in order to ensure that:
3. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify:
Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. 4. ESMA may suspend the reporting obligations specified in paragraph 1 for certain or all financial instruments where all of the following conditions are met:
When taking the measure referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, ESMA shall take into account the extent to which the measure ensures the accuracy and completeness of the reported data for the purposes specified in paragraph 2. Before deciding to take the measure referred to in the first subparagraph, ESMA shall notify the relevant competent authorities. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50 in order to supplement this Regulation by specifying the conditions referred to in the first subparagraph and the circumstances under which the suspension referred to in that subparagraph ceases to apply.’; |
(6) | the following Title is inserted: ‘TITLE IVa DATA REPORTING SERVICES CHAPTER 1 Authorisation of data reporting services providers Article 27a For the purposes of this Title, a national competent authority means a competent authority as defined in point (26) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU.Article 27 - b Requirement for authorisation 1. The operation of an APA, a CTP or an ARM as a regular occupation or business shall be subject to prior authorisation by ESMA in accordance with this Title.By way of derogation from the first subparagraph of this paragraph, an APA or ARM identified in accordance with the delegated act referred to in Article 2(3) shall be subject to prior authorisation and supervision by the relevant national competent authority in accordance with this Title. 2. An investment firm or a market operator operating a trading venue may also provide the services of an APA, a CTP or an ARM, subject to the prior verification by ESMA or the relevant national competent authority that the investment firm or the market operator complies with this Title. The provision of those services shall be included in their authorisation. 3. ESMA shall establish a register of all data reporting services providers in the Union. The register shall be publicly available and shall contain information on the services for which the data reporting services provider is authorised and it shall be updated on a regular basis. Where ESMA, or a national competent authority where relevant, has withdrawn an authorisation in accordance with Article 27e, that withdrawal shall be published in the register for a period of five years. 4. Data reporting services providers shall provide their services under the supervision of ESMA or the national competent authority where relevant. ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, shall regularly review the compliance of data reporting services providers with this Title. ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, shall monitor that data reporting services providers comply at all times with the conditions for initial authorisation established under this Title. Article 27 - c Authorisation of data reporting services providers 1. Data reporting services providers shall be authorised by ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, for the purposes of this Title where:
2. The authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 shall specify the data reporting service which the data reporting services provider is authorised to provide. Where an authorised data reporting services provider seeks to extend its business to additional data reporting services, it shall submit a request to ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, for extension of that authorisation. 3. An authorised data reporting services provider shall comply at all times with the conditions for authorisation referred to in this Title. An authorised data reporting services provider shall, without undue delay, notify ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, of any material changes to the conditions for authorisation. 4. The authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be effective and valid for the entire territory of the Union, and shall allow the data reporting services provider to provide the services for which it has been authorised throughout the Union. Article 27 - d Procedures for granting and refusing applications for authorisation 1. The applicant data reporting services provider shall submit an application providing all information necessary to enable ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, to confirm that the data reporting services provider has established, at the time of initial authorisation, all the necessary arrangements to meet its obligations under the provisions of this Title, including a programme of operations setting out, inter alia, the types of services envisaged and the organisational structure.2. ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, shall assess whether the application for authorisation is complete within 20 working days of receipt of the application. Where the application is not complete, ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, shall set a deadline by which the data reporting services provider is to provide additional information. After assessing an application as complete, ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, shall notify the data reporting services provider accordingly. 3. ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, shall, within six months from the receipt of a complete application, assess the compliance of the data reporting services provider with this Title. It shall adopt a fully reasoned decision granting or refusing authorisation and shall notify the applicant data service provider accordingly within five working days. 4. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to determine:
Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. 5. ESMA shall develop draft implementing technical standards to determine standard forms, templates and procedures for the notification or provision of information provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article and in Article 27f(2). Power is conferred on the Commission to adopt the implementing technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Article 27 - e Withdrawal of authorisation 1. ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, may withdraw the authorisation of a data reporting services provider where the latter:
2. ESMA shall, where relevant, without undue delay, notify the national competent authority in the Member State where the data reporting services provider is established of a decision to withdraw the authorisation of a data reporting services provider. Article 27 - f Requirements for the management body of a data reporting services provider 1. The management body of a data reporting services provider shall at all times be of sufficiently good repute, possess sufficient knowledge, skills and experience and commit sufficient time to perform their duties.The management body shall possess adequate collective knowledge, skills and experience to be able to understand the activities of the data reporting services provider. Each member of the management body shall act with honesty, integrity and independence of mind to effectively challenge the decisions of the senior management where necessary and to effectively oversee and monitor management decision-making where necessary. Where a market operator seeks authorisation to operate an APA, a CTP or an ARM pursuant to Article 27d and the members of the management body of the APA, the CTP or the ARM are the same as the members of the management body of the regulated market, those persons are deemed to comply with the requirements laid down in the first subparagraph. 2. A data reporting services provider shall notify to ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, the names of all members of its management body and any changes to its membership, along with all information needed to assess whether the entity complies with paragraph 1. 3. The management body of a data reporting services provider shall define and oversee the implementation of the governance arrangements that ensure effective and prudent management of an organisation, including the segregation of duties in the organisation and the prevention of conflicts of interest, and in a manner that promotes the integrity of the market and the interest of its clients. 4. ESMA, or the national competent authority where relevant, shall refuse authorisation if it is not satisfied that the person or persons who effectively direct the business of the data reporting services provider are of sufficiently good repute, or if there are objective and demonstrable grounds for believing that proposed changes to the management body of the data reporting services provider pose a threat to its sound and prudent management and to the adequate consideration of the interest of its clients and the integrity of the market. 5. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards by 1 January 2021 for the assessment of the suitability of the members of the management body described in paragraph 1, taking into account different roles and functions carried out by them and the need to avoid conflicts of interest between members of the management body and users of the APA, CTP or ARM. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. CHAPTER 2 Conditions for APAs, CTPs and ARMs Article 27 - g Organisational requirements for APAs 1. An APA shall have adequate policies and arrangements in place to make public the information required under Articles 20 and 21 as close to real time as is technically possible, on a reasonable commercial basis. The information shall be made available free of charge 15 minutes after the APA has published it. The APA shall efficiently and consistently disseminate such information in a way that ensures fast access to the information, on a non-discriminatory basis and in a format that facilitates the consolidation of the information with similar data from other sources.2. The information made public by an APA in accordance with paragraph 1 shall include, at least, the following details:
3. An APA shall operate and maintain effective administrative arrangements designed to prevent conflicts of interest with its clients. In particular, an APA who is also a market operator or investment firm shall treat all information collected in a non-discriminatory way and shall operate and maintain appropriate arrangements to separate different business functions. 4. An APA shall have sound security mechanisms in place designed to guarantee the security of the means of transfer of information, minimise the risk of data corruption and unauthorised access and to prevent information leakage before publication. The APA shall maintain adequate resources and have back-up facilities in place in order to offer and maintain its services at all times. 5. The APA shall have systems in place that can effectively check trade reports for completeness, identify omissions and obvious errors, and request re-transmission of any such erroneous reports. 6. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to determine common formats, data standards and technical arrangements facilitating the consolidation of information as referred to in paragraph 1. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. 7. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50 in order to supplement this Regulation by specifying what constitutes a reasonable commercial basis to make information public as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. 8. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying:
Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Article 27 - h Organisational requirements for CTPs 1. A CTP shall have adequate policies and arrangements in place to collect the information made public in accordance with Articles 6 and 20, consolidate it into a continuous electronic data stream, and make the information available to the public as close to real time as is technically possible, on a reasonable commercial basis.That information shall include, at least, the following details:
The information shall be made available free of charge 15 minutes after the CTP has published it. The CTP shall be able to efficiently and consistently disseminate such information in a way that ensures fast access to the information, on a non-discriminatory basis and in formats that are easily accessible and utilisable for market participants. 2. A CTP shall have adequate policies and arrangements in place to collect the information made public in accordance with Article 10 and Article 21, consolidate it into a continuous electronic data stream, and make information available to the public as close to real time as is technically possible, on a reasonable commercial basis including, at least, the following details:
The information shall be made available free of charge 15 minutes after the CTP has published it. The CTP shall be able to efficiently and consistently disseminate such information in a way that ensures fast access to the information, on a non-discriminatory basis, and in generally accepted formats that are interoperable and easily accessible and utilisable for market participants. 3. The CTP shall ensure that the data provided is consolidated from all the regulated markets, MTFs, OTFs and APAs and for the financial instruments specified by regulatory technical standards under point (c) of paragraph 8. 4. The CTP shall operate and maintain effective administrative arrangements designed to prevent conflicts of interest. In particular, a market operator, or an APA, who also operates a consolidated tape, shall treat all information collected in a non-discriminatory way and shall operate and maintain appropriate arrangements to separate different business functions. 5. The CTP shall have sound security mechanisms in place designed to guarantee the security of the means of transfer of information and to minimise the risk of data corruption and unauthorised access. The CTP shall maintain adequate resources and have back-up facilities in place in order to offer and maintain its services at all times. 6. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to determine data standards and formats for the information to be published in accordance with Articles 6, 10, 20 and 21, including financial instrument identifier, price, quantity, time, price notation, venue identifier and indicators for specific conditions the transactions was subject to as well as technical arrangements promoting an efficient and consistent dissemination of information in a way ensuring for it to be easily accessible and utilisable for market participants as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, including identifying additional services the CTP could perform which increase the efficiency of the market. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. 7. The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50 in order to supplement this Regulation by clarifying what constitutes a reasonable commercial basis to provide access to data streams as referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article. 8. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying:
Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Article 27 - i Organisational requirements for ARMs 1. An ARM shall have adequate policies and arrangements in place to report the information required under Article 26 as quickly as possible, and no later than the close of the working day following the day upon which the transaction took place.2. The ARM shall operate and maintain effective administrative arrangements designed to prevent conflicts of interest with its clients. In particular, an ARM that is also a market operator or investment firm shall treat all information collected in a non-discriminatory fashion and shall operate and maintain appropriate arrangements to separate different business functions. 3. The ARM shall have sound security mechanisms in place designed to guarantee the security and authentication of the means of transfer of information, minimise the risk of data corruption and unauthorised access and to prevent information leakage, maintaining the confidentiality of the data at all times. The ARM shall maintain adequate resources and have back-up facilities in place in order to offer and maintain its services at all times. 4. The ARM shall have systems in place that can effectively check transaction reports for completeness, identify omissions and obvious errors caused by the investment firm, and where such error or omission occurs, to communicate details of the error or omission to the investment firm and request re-transmission of any such erroneous reports. The ARM shall have systems in place to enable the ARM to detect errors or omissions caused by the ARM itself and to enable the ARM to correct and transmit, or re-transmit as the case may be, correct and complete transaction reports to the competent authority. 5. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards specifying:
Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.’; |
(7) | the following Title is inserted: ‘TITLE VIa ESMA POWERS AND COMPETENCES CHAPTER 1 Competences and procedures Article 38 - a Exercise of ESMA’s powers The powers conferred on ESMA or any official of or other person authorised by ESMA by Articles 38b to 38e shall not be used to require the disclosure of information or documents which are subject to legal privilege.Article 38 - b Request for information 1. ESMA may by simple request or by decision require the following persons to provide all information to enable ESMA to carry out its duties under this Regulation:
2. Any simple request for information referred to in paragraph 1 shall:
3. When requiring to supply information under paragraph 1 by decision, ESMA shall:
4. The persons referred to in paragraph 1 or their representatives and, in the case of legal persons or associations having no legal personality, the persons authorised to represent them by law or by their statutes shall supply the information requested. Lawyers duly authorised to act may supply the information on behalf of their clients. The latter shall remain fully responsible if the information supplied is incomplete, incorrect or misleading. 5. ESMA shall, without undue delay, send a copy of the simple request or of its decision to the competent authority of the Member State of the persons referred to in paragraph 1. Article 38 - c General investigations 1. In order to carry out its duties under this Regulation, ESMA may conduct necessary investigations of persons referred to in Article 38b(1). To that end, the officials and other persons authorised by ESMA shall be empowered to:
2. The officials and other persons authorised by ESMA for the purposes of the investigations referred to in paragraph 1 shall exercise their powers upon production of a written authorisation specifying the subject matter and purpose of the investigation. That authorisation shall also indicate the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 38i where the production of the required records, data, procedures or any other material, or the answers to questions asked to persons referred to in Article 38b(1) are not provided or are incomplete, and the fines provided for in Article 38h, where the answers to questions asked to persons referred to in Article 38b(1) are incorrect or misleading. 3. The persons referred to in Article 38b(1) are required to submit to investigations launched on the basis of a decision of ESMA. The decision shall specify the subject matter and purpose of the investigation, the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 38i, the legal remedies available under Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 and the right to have the decision reviewed by the Court of Justice. 4. In good time before an investigation referred to in paragraph 1, ESMA shall inform the competent authority of the Member State where the investigation is to be carried out of the investigation and of the identity of the authorised persons. Officials of the competent authority concerned shall, upon the request of ESMA, assist those authorised persons in carrying out their duties. Officials of the competent authority concerned may also attend the investigations upon request. 5. If a request for records of telephone or data traffic referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1 requires authorisation from a judicial authority according to applicable national law, such authorisation shall be applied for. Such authorisation may also be applied for as a precautionary measure. 6. Where a national judicial authority receives an application for the authorisation of a request for records of telephone or data traffic referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1, that authority shall verify the following:
For the purposes of point (b), the national judicial authority may ask ESMA for detailed explanations, in particular relating to the grounds ESMA has for suspecting that an infringement of this Regulation has taken place and the seriousness of the suspected infringement and the nature of the involvement of the person subject to the coercive measures. However, the national judicial authority shall not review the necessity for the investigation or demand that it be provided with the information on ESMA’s file. The lawfulness of ESMA’s decision shall be subject to review only by the Court of Justice following the procedure set out in Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Article 38 - d On-site inspections 1. In order to carry out its duties under this Regulation, ESMA may conduct all necessary on-site inspections at any business premises of the persons referred to in Article 38b(1).2. The officials and other persons authorised by ESMA to conduct an on-site inspection may enter any business premises of the persons subject to an investigation decision adopted by ESMA and shall have all the powers stipulated in Article 38b(1). They shall also have the power to seal any business premises and books or records for the period of, and to the extent necessary for, the inspection. 3. In sufficient time before the inspection, ESMA shall give notice of the inspection to the competent authority of the Member State where the inspection is to be conducted. Where the proper conduct and efficiency of the inspection so require, ESMA, after informing the relevant competent authority, may carry out the on-site inspection without prior notice. Inspections in accordance with this Article shall be conducted provided that the relevant competent authority has confirmed that it does not object to those inspections. 4. The officials and other persons authorised by ESMA to conduct an on-site inspection shall exercise their powers upon production of a written authorisation specifying the subject matter and purpose of the inspection and the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 38i where the persons concerned do not submit to the inspection. 5. The persons referred to in Article 38b(1) shall submit to on-site inspections ordered by decision of ESMA. The decision shall specify the subject matter and purpose of the inspection, appoint the date on which it is to begin and indicate the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 38i, the legal remedies available under Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 as well as the right to have the decision reviewed by the Court of Justice. 6. Officials of, as well as those authorised or appointed by, the competent authority of the Member State where the inspection is to be conducted shall, at the request of ESMA, actively assist the officials and other persons authorised by ESMA. Officials of the competent authority of the Member State concerned may also attend the on-site inspections. 7. ESMA may also require competent authorities to carry out specific investigatory tasks and on-site inspections as provided for in this Article and in Article 38b(1) on its behalf. 8. Where the officials and other accompanying persons authorised by ESMA find that a person opposes an inspection ordered pursuant to this Article, the competent authority of the Member State concerned shall afford them the necessary assistance, requesting, where appropriate, the assistance of the police or of an equivalent enforcement authority, so as to enable them to conduct their on-site inspection. 9. If the on-site inspection provided for in paragraph 1 or the assistance provided for in paragraph 7 requires authorisation by a judicial authority according to national law, such authorisation shall be applied for. Such authorisation may also be applied for as a precautionary measure. 10. Where a national judicial authority receives an application for the authorisation of an on-site inspection provided for in paragraph 1 or the assistance provided for in paragraph 7, that authority shall verify the following:
For the purposes of point (b), the national judicial authority may ask ESMA for detailed explanations, in particular relating to the grounds ESMA has for suspecting that an infringement of this Regulation has taken place and the seriousness of the suspected infringement and the nature of the involvement of the person subject to the coercive measures. However, the national judicial authority shall not review the necessity for the investigation or demand that it be provided with the information on ESMA’s file. The lawfulness of ESMA’s decision shall be subject to review only by the Court of Justice following the procedure set out in Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Article 38 - e Exchange of information ESMA and the competent authorities shall, without undue delay, provide each other with the information required for the purposes of carrying out their duties under this Regulation.Article 38 - f Professional secrecy The obligation of professional secrecy referred to in Article 76 of Directive 2014/65/EU shall apply to ESMA and all persons who work or who have worked for ESMA or for any other person to whom ESMA has delegated tasks, including auditors and experts contracted by ESMA.Article 38 - g Supervisory measures by ESMA 1. Where ESMA finds that a person listed in point (a) of Article 38b(1) has committed one of the infringements of requirements provided for in Title IVa, it shall take one or more of the following actions:
2. When taking the actions referred to in paragraph 1, ESMA shall take into account the nature and seriousness of the infringement, having regard to the following criteria:
3. Without undue delay, ESMA shall notify any action taken pursuant to paragraph 1 to the person responsible for the infringement, and shall communicate it to the competent authorities of the Member States and to the Commission. It shall publicly disclose any such action on its website within 10 working days from the date when it was taken. The disclosure to the public referred to in the first subparagraph shall include the following:
CHAPTER 2 Administrative sanctions and other administrative measures Article 38 - h Fines 1. Where in accordance with Article 38k(5), ESMA finds that any person has, intentionally or negligently, committed one of the infringements of the requirements provided for in Title IVa, it shall adopt a decision imposing a fine in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.An infringement shall be considered to have been committed intentionally if ESMA finds objective factors which demonstrate that a person acted deliberately to commit the infringement. 2. The maximum amount of the fine referred to in paragraph 1 shall be EUR 200 000 or, in the Member States whose currency is not the euro, the corresponding value in the national currency. 3. When determining the level of a fine pursuant to paragraph 1, ESMA shall take into account the criteria set out in Article 38g(2). Article 38 - i Periodic penalty payments 1. ESMA shall, by decision, impose periodic penalty payments in order to compel:
2. A periodic penalty payment shall be effective and proportionate. The periodic penalty payment shall be imposed for each day of delay. 3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, the amount of the periodic penalty payments shall be 3 % of the average daily turnover in the preceding business year, or, in the case of natural persons, 2 % of the average daily income in the preceding calendar year. It shall be calculated from the date stipulated in the decision imposing the periodic penalty payment. 4. A periodic penalty payment shall be imposed for a maximum period of six months following the notification of ESMA’s decision. Following the end of the period, ESMA shall review the measure. Article 38 - j Disclosure, nature, enforcement and allocation of fines and periodic penalty payments 1. ESMA shall disclose to the public every fine and periodic penalty payment that has been imposed pursuant to Articles 38h and 38i unless such disclosure to the public would seriously jeopardise the financial markets or cause disproportionate damage to the parties involved. Such disclosure shall not contain personal data within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*52).2. Fines and periodic penalty payments imposed pursuant to Articles 38h and 38i shall be of an administrative nature. 3. Where ESMA decides to impose no fines or penalty payments, it shall inform the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, and the competent authorities of the Member State concerned accordingly and shall set out the reasons for its decision. 4. Fines and periodic penalty payments imposed pursuant to Articles 38h and 38i shall be enforceable. Enforcement shall be governed by the rules of procedure in force in the Member State in the territory of which it is carried out. 5. The amounts of the fines and periodic penalty payments shall be allocated to the general budget of the European Union. Article 38 - k Procedural rules for taking supervisory measures and imposing fines 1. Where, in carrying out its duties under this Regulation, ESMA finds that there are serious indications of the possible existence of facts liable to constitute one or more of the infringements of the requirements provided for in Title IVa, ESMA shall appoint an independent investigation officer within ESMA to investigate the matter. The appointed officer shall not be involved or have been directly or indirectly involved in the supervision or the authorisation process of the data reporting services provider concerned and shall perform its functions independently from ESMA.2. The investigation officer referred to in paragraph 1 shall investigate the alleged infringements, taking into account any comments submitted by the persons who are subject to the investigations, and shall submit a complete file with his or her findings to ESMA. 3. In order to carry out his or her tasks, the investigation officer may exercise the power to request information in accordance with Article 38b and to conduct investigations and on-site inspections in accordance with Articles 38c and 38d. 4. Where carrying out his or her tasks, the investigation officer shall have access to all documents and information gathered by ESMA in its supervisory activities. 5. Upon completion of his or her investigation and before submitting the file with his or her findings to ESMA, the investigation officer shall give the persons subject to the investigations the opportunity to be heard on the matters being investigated. The investigation officer shall base his or her findings only on facts on which the persons concerned have had the opportunity to comment. 6. The rights of the defence of the persons subject to the investigation shall be fully respected during investigations under this Article. 7. When submitting the file with his or her findings to ESMA, the investigation officer shall notify the persons who are subject to the investigation. The persons subject to the investigations shall be entitled to have access to the file, subject to the legitimate interest of other persons in the protection of their business secrets. The right of access to the file shall not extend to confidential information affecting third parties. 8. On the basis of the file containing the investigation officer’s findings and, when requested by the persons subject to the investigation, after having heard those persons in accordance with Article 38l, ESMA shall decide if one or more of the infringements of the requirements provided for in Title IVa have been committed by the persons subject to the investigation and, in such a case, shall take a supervisory measure in accordance with Article 38g. 9. The investigation officer shall not participate in ESMA’s deliberations or in any other way intervene in ESMA’s decision-making process. 10. The Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50 by 1 October 2021 to further specify the rules of procedure for the exercise of the power to impose fines or periodic penalty payments, including provisions on the rights of the defence, temporal provisions, and the collection of fines or periodic penalty payments, and the limitation periods for the imposition and enforcement of fines and periodic penalty payments. 11. ESMA shall refer matters for criminal prosecution to the relevant national authorities where, in carrying out its duties under this Regulation, it finds that there are serious indications of the possible existence of facts liable to constitute a criminal offence. In addition, ESMA shall refrain from imposing fines or periodic penalty payments where a prior acquittal or conviction arising from identical fact or facts which are substantially the same has already acquired the force of res judicata as the result of criminal proceedings under national law. Article 38 - l Hearing of the persons concerned 1. Before taking any decision pursuant to Articles 38g, 38h and 38i, ESMA shall give the persons subject to the proceedings the opportunity to be heard on its findings. ESMA shall base its decisions only on findings on which the persons subject to the proceedings have had an opportunity to comment.The first subparagraph shall not apply if urgent action is needed in order to prevent significant and imminent damage to the financial system. In such a case ESMA may adopt an interim decision and shall give the persons concerned the opportunity to be heard as soon as possible after taking its decision. 2. The rights of the defence of the persons subject to investigations shall be fully respected in the proceedings. They shall be entitled to have access to ESMA’s file, subject to the legitimate interest of other persons in the protection of their business secrets. The right of access to the file shall not extend to confidential information or ESMA’s internal preparatory documents. Article 38 - m Review by the Court of Justice The Court of Justice shall have unlimited jurisdiction to review decisions whereby ESMA has imposed a fine or a periodic penalty payment. It may annul, reduce or increase the fine or periodic penalty payment imposed.Article 38 - n Authorisation and supervisory fees 1. ESMA shall charge fees to the data reporting services providers in accordance with this Regulation and in accordance with the delegated acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article. Those fees shall fully cover ESMA’s necessary expenditure relating to the authorisation and supervision of data reporting services providers and the reimbursement of any costs that the competent authorities may incur carrying out work pursuant to this Regulation, in particular as a result of any delegation of tasks in accordance with Article 38o.2. The amount of an individual fee charged to a particular data reporting services provider shall cover all administrative costs incurred by ESMA for the authorisation and supervisory activities relating to that provider. It shall be proportionate to the turnover of the data reporting services provider. 3. The Commission shall adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 50 supplementing this Regulation by 1 October 2021 to specify the type of fees, the matters for which fees are due, the amount of the fees and the manner in which they are to be paid. Article 38 - o Delegation of tasks by ESMA to competent authorities 1. Where necessary for the proper performance of a supervisory task, ESMA may delegate specific supervisory tasks to the competent authority of a Member State in accordance with the guidelines issued by ESMA pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Such specific supervisory tasks may, in particular, include the power to carry out requests for information in accordance with Article 38b and to conduct investigations and on-site inspections in accordance with Article 38c and Article 38d.2. Prior to delegation of a task, ESMA shall consult the relevant competent authority about:
3. In accordance with the delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 38n(3), ESMA shall reimburse a competent authority for costs incurred as a result of carrying out delegated tasks. 4. ESMA shall review the decision referred to in paragraph 1 at appropriate intervals. A delegation may be revoked at any time. 5. A delegation of tasks shall not affect the responsibility of ESMA nor limit ESMA’s ability to conduct and oversee the delegated activity. (*52) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).’;" |
(8) | in Article 40, paragraph 6 is replaced by the following: ‘6. ESMA shall review a prohibition or restriction imposed under paragraph 1 at appropriate intervals, and at least every six months. Following at least two consecutive renewals and based on proper analysis in order to assess the impact on the consumer, ESMA may decide on the annual renewal of the prohibition or restriction.’; |
(9) | in Article 41, paragraph 6 is replaced by the following: ‘6. EBA shall review a prohibition or restriction imposed under paragraph 1 at appropriate intervals, and at least every six months. Following at least two consecutive renewals and based on proper analysis in order to assess the impact on the consumer, EBA may decide on the annual renewal of the prohibition or restriction.’; |
(10) | Article 50 is amended as follows:
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(11) | in Article 52, the following paragraphs are added: ‘13. The Commission shall, after consulting ESMA, present reports to the European Parliament and to the Council on the functioning of the consolidated tape established in accordance with Title IVa. The report relating to Article 27h(1) shall be presented by 3 September 2019. The report relating to Article 27h(2) shall be presented by 3 September 2021. The reports referred to in the first subparagraph shall assess the functioning of the consolidated tape against the following criteria:
Where the Commission concludes that the CTPs have failed to provide information in a way that meets the criteria set out in the second subparagraph, the Commission shall attach a request to its report for ESMA to launch a negotiated procedure for the appointment though a public procurement process run by ESMA of a commercial entity operating a consolidated tape. ESMA shall launch the procedure after receiving the request from the Commission on the conditions specified in the Commission’s request and in accordance with Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*53). 14. Where the procedure outlined in paragraph 13 of this Article has been initiated, the Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50 in order to supplement this Regulation, by specifying measures in order to:
(*53) Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1).’;" |
(12) | the following articles are inserted: ‘Article 54a Transitional measures related to ESMA 1. All competences and duties related to the supervisory and enforcement activity in the field of data reporting services providers shall be transferred to ESMA on 1 January 2022, except for competences and duties related to APAs and ARMs subject to derogation referred to in Article 2(3). Those transferred competences and duties shall be taken-up by ESMA on the same date. 2. Any files and working documents related to the supervisory and enforcement activity in the field of data reporting services providers, including any ongoing examinations and enforcement actions, or certified copies thereof, shall be taken over by ESMA on the date referred to in paragraph 1. However, an application for authorisation that has been received by competent authorities before 1 October 2021 shall not be transferred to ESMA, and the decision to register or refuse registration shall be taken by the relevant competent authority. 3. The competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1 shall ensure that any existing records and working papers, or certified copies thereof, shall be transferred to ESMA as soon as possible and in any event by 1 January 2022. Those competent authorities shall also render all necessary assistance and advice to ESMA to facilitate effective and efficient transfer and taking-up of supervisory and enforcement activity in the field of data reporting services providers. 4. ESMA shall act as the legal successor to the competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1 in any administrative or judicial proceedings that result from supervisory and enforcement activity pursued by those competent authorities in relation to matters that fall under this Regulation. 5. Any authorisation of a data reporting services provider granted by a competent authority as defined in point 26 of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU shall remain valid after the transfer of competences to ESMA. Article 54 - b Relations with auditors 1. Any person authorised within the meaning of Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (*54), performing in a data reporting services provider the task described in Article 34 of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (*55) or Article 73 of Directive 2009/65/EC or any other task prescribed by law, shall have a duty to report promptly to ESMA any fact or decision concerning that data reporting services provider of which that person has become aware while carrying out that task and which is liable to:
That person shall also have a duty to report any facts and decisions of which the person becomes aware in the course of carrying out one of the tasks referred to in the first subparagraph in an undertaking having close links with the data reporting services provider within which he or she is carrying out that task. 2. The disclosure in good faith to the competent authorities, by persons authorised within the meaning of Directive 2006/43/EC, of any fact or decision referred to in paragraph 1 shall not constitute a breach of any contractual or legal restriction on disclosure of information and shall not involve such persons in liability of any kind. (*54) Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2006 on statutory audits of annual accounts and consolidated accounts, amending Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC and repealing Council Directive 84/253/EEC (OJ L 157, 9.6.2006, p. 87)." (*55) Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings, amending Directive 2006/43/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 78/660/EEC and 83/349/EEC (OJ L 182, 29.6.2013, p. 19).’." |
Article 5 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2016/1011
(1) | in Article 3(1), point (24)(a) is amended as follows:
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(2) | in Article 4, the following paragraph is added: ‘9. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify the requirements to ensure that the governance arrangements referred to in paragraph 1 are sufficiently robust. ESMA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 1 October 2020. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.’; |
(3) | in Article 12, the following paragraph is added: ‘4. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify the conditions to ensure that the methodology referred to in paragraph 1 complies with points (a) to (e) of that paragraph. ESMA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 1 October 2020. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.’; |
(4) | in Article 14, the following paragraph is added: ‘4. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify the characteristics of the systems and controls referred to in paragraph 1. ESMA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 1 October 2020. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.’; |
(5) | in Article 20, the following paragraph is inserted: ‘1a. Where ESMA considers that a benchmark fulfils all of the criteria set out in point (c) of paragraph 1, it shall submit a documented request to the Commission to recognise that benchmark as critical. After receiving that documented request, the Commission shall adopt an implementing act in accordance with paragraph 1. ESMA shall review its assessment of the criticality of the benchmark at least every two years and shall notify and transmit the assessment to the Commission.’; |
(6) | Article 21 is amended as follows:
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(7) | in Article 23, paragraphs 3 and 4 are replaced by the following: ‘3. A supervised contributor to a critical benchmark that intends to cease contributing input data shall promptly notify the administrator thereof in writing. The administrator shall thereupon inform without undue delay its competent authority. The competent authority of the critical benchmark administrator shall inform the competent authority of that supervised contributor, and where applicable ESMA, thereof without undue delay. The administrator shall submit to its competent authority an assessment of the implications on the capability of the critical benchmark to measure the underlying market or economic reality, as soon as possible but no later than 14 days after the notification made by the supervised contributor. 4. Upon receipt of the assessment referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, the competent authority of the administrator shall, where applicable, promptly inform ESMA or the college established under Article 46 and shall on the basis of that assessment make its own assessment of the capability of the benchmark to measure the underlying market and economic reality, taking into account the administrator’s procedure for cessation of the benchmark established in accordance with Article 28(1).’; |
(8) | in Article 26, the following paragraph is added: ‘6. ESMA shall develop draft regulatory technical standards to specify the criteria under which competent authorities may require changes to the compliance statement as referred to in paragraph 4. ESMA shall submit those draft regulatory technical standards to the Commission by 1 October 2020. Power is delegated to the Commission to supplement this Regulation by adopting the regulatory technical standards referred to in the first subparagraph in accordance with Articles 10 to 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.’; |
(9) | Article 30 is amended as follows:
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(10) | Article 32 is amended as follows:
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(11) | in Article 34, the following paragraph is inserted: ‘1a. Where one or more of the indices provided by the person referred to in paragraph 1 would qualify as critical benchmarks as referred to in points (a) and (c) of Article 20(1), the application shall be addressed to ESMA.’; |
(12) | Article 40 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 40 Competent authorities 1. For the purposes of this Regulation, ESMA shall be the competent authority for:
2. Each Member State shall designate the relevant competent authority responsible for carrying out the duties under this Regulation and shall inform the Commission and ESMA thereof. 3. A Member State that designates more than one competent authority in accordance with paragraph 2 shall clearly determine the respective roles of those competent authorities and shall designate a single authority to be responsible for coordinating the cooperation and the exchange of information with the Commission, ESMA and other Member States’ competent authorities. 4. ESMA shall publish on its website a list of the competent authorities designated in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3.’; |
(13) | Article 41 is amended as follows:
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(14) | in Article 43(1), the introductory part is replaced by the following: ‘1. Member States shall ensure that, when determining the type and level of administrative sanctions and other administrative measures, competent authorities that they have designated in accordance with Article 40(2) take into account all relevant circumstances, including where appropriate:’; |
(15) | Article 44 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 44 Obligation to cooperate 1. Member States that have chosen to lay down criminal sanctions for infringements of the provisions referred to in Article 42 shall ensure that appropriate measures are in place so that the competent authorities designated in accordance with Article 40(2) and (3) have all the necessary powers to liaise with judicial authorities within their jurisdiction to receive specific information relating to criminal investigations or proceedings commenced for possible infringements of this Regulation. Those competent authorities shall provide that information to other competent authorities and to ESMA. 2. Competent authorities designated in accordance with Article 40(2) and (3) shall assist other competent authorities and ESMA. In particular, they shall exchange information and cooperate in any investigation or supervisory activities. Competent authorities may also cooperate with other competent authorities to facilitate the recovery of pecuniary sanctions.’; |
(16) | in Article 45(5), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following: ‘5. Member States shall provide ESMA with aggregated information regarding all administrative sanctions and other administrative measures imposed pursuant to Article 42 on an annual basis. That obligation shall not apply to measures of an investigatory nature. ESMA shall publish that information in an annual report, together with aggregated information on all administrative sanctions and other administrative measures it has imposed pursuant to Article 48f.’; |
(17) | in Article 46, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following: ‘1. Within 30 working days from the inclusion of a benchmark referred to in points (a) and (c) of Article 20(1) in the list of critical benchmarks, with the exception of benchmarks where the majority of contributors are non-supervised entities, the competent authority of the administrator shall establish a college and lead the college. 2. The college shall comprise representatives of the competent authority of the administrator, ESMA, unless it is the competent authority of the administrator, and the competent authorities of supervised contributors.’; |
(18) | in Article 47, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following: ‘1. The competent authorities referred to in Article 40(2) shall cooperate with ESMA for the purposes of this Regulation, in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. 2. The competent authorities referred to in Article 40(2) shall, without undue delay, provide ESMA with all information necessary to carry out its duties, in accordance with Article 35 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010.’; |
(19) | in Title VI, the following Chapter is added: ‘CHAPTER 4 ESMA powers and competences Section 1 - Competences and proceduresArticle 48 - a Exercise of the powers by ESMA The powers conferred on ESMA, on any official of ESMA or on any other person authorised by ESMA by Articles 48b to 48d shall not be used to require the disclosure of information or documents that are subject to legal privilege.Article 48 - b Request for information 1. ESMA may by simple request or by decision require the following persons to provide all necessary information to enable ESMA to carry out its duties under this Regulation:
In accordance with Article 35 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 and at the request of ESMA, competent authorities shall submit that request for information to contributors to critical benchmarks referred to in points (a) and (c) of Article 20(1) of this Regulation and shall share the information received without undue delay with ESMA. 2. Any simple request for information as referred to paragraph 1 shall:
3. When requiring to supply information under paragraph 1 by decision, ESMA shall:
4. The persons referred to in paragraph 1 or their representatives and, in the case of legal persons or associations having no legal personality, the persons authorised to represent them by law or by their constitution, shall supply the information requested. Lawyers duly authorised to act may supply the information on behalf of their clients. The latter shall remain fully responsible if the information supplied is incomplete, incorrect or misleading. 5. ESMA shall, without undue delay, send a copy of the simple request or of its decision to the competent authority of the Member State of the persons referred to in paragraph 1. Article 48 - c General investigations 1. In order to carry out its duties under this Regulation, ESMA may conduct necessary investigations of the persons referred to in Article 48b(1). To that end, the officials and other persons authorised by ESMA shall be empowered to:
2. The officials and other persons authorised by ESMA for the purposes of the investigations referred to in paragraph 1 shall exercise their powers upon production of a written authorisation specifying the subject matter and purpose of the investigation. That authorisation shall indicate the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 48g where the production of the required records, data, procedures or any other material, or the answers to questions asked to the persons referred to in Article 48b(1) are not provided or are incomplete, and the fines provided for in Article 48f, where the answers to questions asked to those persons are incorrect or misleading. 3. The persons referred to in Article 48b(1) are required to submit to investigations launched on the basis of a decision of ESMA. The decision shall specify the subject matter and purpose of the investigation, the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 48g, the legal remedies available under Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 and the right to have the decision reviewed by the Court of Justice. 4. In good time before an investigation referred to in paragraph 1, ESMA shall inform the competent authority of the Member State where the investigation is to be carried out of the investigation and of the identity of the authorised persons. Officials of the competent authority concerned shall, at the request of ESMA, assist those authorised persons in carrying out their duties. Officials of the competent authority concerned may attend the investigations upon request. 5. If a request for records of telephone or data traffic referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1 requires authorisation from a national judicial authority according to applicable national law, such authorisation shall be applied for. Such authorisation may also be applied for as a precautionary measure. 6. Where a national judicial authority receives an application for the authorisation of a request for records of telephone or data traffic referred to in point (e) of paragraph 1 that authority shall verify the following:
For the purposes of point (b), the national judicial authority may ask ESMA for detailed explanations, in particular relating to the grounds ESMA has for suspecting that an infringement of this Regulation has taken place and the seriousness of the suspected infringement and the nature of the involvement of the person subject to the coercive measures. However, the national judicial authority shall not review the necessity for the investigation or demand that it be provided with the information on ESMA’s file. The lawfulness of ESMA’s decision shall be subject to review only by the Court of Justice following the procedure set out in Article 61 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Article 48 - d On-site inspections 1. In order to carry out its duties under this Regulation, ESMA may conduct all necessary on-site inspections at any business premises of the persons referred to in Article 48b(1).2. The officials and other persons authorised by ESMA to conduct an on-site inspection may enter any business premises of the persons subject to an investigation decision adopted by ESMA and shall have all the powers stipulated in Article 48c(1). They shall have the power to seal any business premises and books or records for the period of, and to the extent necessary for, the inspection. 3. In sufficient time before the inspection, ESMA shall give notice of the inspection to the competent authority of the Member State where the inspection is to be conducted. Where the proper conduct and efficiency of the inspection so require, ESMA, after informing the relevant competent authority, may carry out the on-site inspection without prior notice. Inspections in accordance with this Article shall be conducted provided that the relevant authority has confirmed that it does not object to those inspections. 4. The officials and other persons authorised by ESMA to conduct an on-site inspection shall exercise their powers upon production of a written authorisation, specifying the subject matter and purpose of the inspection and the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 48g where the persons concerned do not submit to the inspection. 5. The persons referred to in Article 48b(1) shall submit to on-site inspections ordered by a decision of ESMA. That decision shall specify the subject matter and purpose of the inspection, the date on which it is to begin and indicate the periodic penalty payments provided for in Article 48g, the legal remedies available under Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010 as well as the right to have the decision reviewed by the Court of Justice. 6. Officials of, as well as those authorised or appointed by, the competent authority of the Member State where the inspection is to be conducted, shall, at the request of ESMA, actively assist the officials and other persons authorised by ESMA. Officials of that competent authority may also attend the on-site inspections upon request. 7. ESMA may also require competent authorities to carry out specific investigatory tasks and on-site inspections as provided for in this Article and in Article 48c(1) on its behalf. To that end, competent authorities shall enjoy the same powers as ESMA as set out in this Article and in Article 48c(1). 8. Where the officials and other accompanying persons authorised by ESMA find that a person opposes an inspection ordered pursuant to this Article, the competent authority of the Member State concerned shall afford them the necessary assistance, requesting, where appropriate, the assistance of the police or of an equivalent enforcement authority, to enable them to conduct their on-site inspection. 9. If the on-site inspection provided for in paragraph 1 or the assistance provided for in paragraph 7 requires authorisation by a national judicial authority according to the applicable national law, such authorisation shall be applied for. Such authorisation may also be applied for as a precautionary measure. 10. Where a national judicial authority receives an application for the authorisation of an on-site inspection provided for in paragraph 1 or the assistance provided for in paragraph 7, that authority shall verify the following:
For the purposes of point (b), the national judicial authority may ask ESMA for detailed explanations, in particular relating to the grounds ESMA has for suspecting that an infringement of this Regulation has taken place and the seriousness of the suspected infringement and the nature of the involvement of the person subject to the coercive measures. However, the national judicial authority shall not review the necessity of the investigation or demand that it be provided with the information on ESMA’s file. The lawfulness of ESMA’s decision shall be subject to review only by the Court of Justice following the procedure set out in Article 61 Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Section 2 - Administrative sanctions and other administrative measuresArticle 48 - e Supervisory measures by ESMA 1. Where, in accordance with Article 48i(5), ESMA finds that a person has committed one of the infringements listed in point (a) of Article 42(1), it shall take one or more of the following actions:
2. When taking the actions referred to in paragraph 1, ESMA shall take into account the nature and seriousness of the infringement, having regard to the following criteria:
3. Without undue delay, ESMA shall notify any action taken pursuant to paragraph 1 to the person responsible for the infringement, and shall communicate it to the competent authorities of the Member States and to the Commission. It shall publicly disclose any such action on its website within 10 working days from the date when it was adopted. The disclosure to the public referred to in the first subparagraph shall include the following:
Article 48 - f Fines 1. Where, in accordance with Article 48i(5), ESMA finds that any person has, intentionally or negligently, committed one or more of the infringements listed in point (a) of Article 42(1), it shall adopt a decision imposing a fine in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article.An infringement shall be considered to have been committed intentionally if ESMA finds objective factors which demonstrate that a person acted deliberately to commit the infringement. 2. The maximum amount of the fine referred to in paragraph 1 shall be:
Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, the maximum amount of the fine for infringements of point (d) of Article 11(1) or of Article 11(4) shall be EUR 250 000 or, in the Member States whose official currency is not the euro, the corresponding value in the national currency on 30 June 2016 or 2 % of the total annual turnover of that legal person according to the last available financial statements approved by the management body, whichever is the higher for legal persons, and EUR 100 000 or, in the Member States whose official currency is not the euro, the corresponding value in the national currency on 30 June 2016 for natural persons. For the purposes of point (a), where the legal person is a parent undertaking or a subsidiary of a parent undertaking which is required to prepare consolidated financial accounts in accordance with Directive 2013/34/EU, the relevant total annual turnover shall be the total annual turnover or the corresponding type of income in accordance with the relevant Union law in the area of accounting according to the last available consolidated accounts approved by the management body of the ultimate parent undertaking. 3. When determining the level of a fine pursuant to paragraph 1, ESMA shall take into account the criteria set out in Article 48e(2). 4. Notwithstanding paragraph 3, where the legal person has directly or indirectly benefited financially from the infringement, the amount of the fine shall be at least equal to that benefit. 5. Where an act or omission of a person constitutes more than one infringement listed in point (a) of Article 42(1), only the higher fine calculated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article and relating to one of those infringements shall apply. Article 48 - g Periodic penalty payments 1. ESMA shall, by decision, impose periodic penalty payments to compel:
2. A periodic penalty payment shall be effective and proportionate. The periodic penalty payment shall be imposed for each day of delay. 3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, the amount of the periodic penalty payments shall be 3 % of the average daily turnover in the preceding business year, or, in the case of natural persons, 2 % of the average daily income in the preceding calendar year. It shall be calculated from the date stipulated in the decision imposing the periodic penalty payment. 4. A periodic penalty payment shall be imposed for a maximum period of six months following the notification of ESMA’s decision. Following the end of the period, ESMA shall review the measure. Article 48 - h Disclosure, nature, enforcement and allocation of fines and periodic penalty payments 1. ESMA shall disclose to the public every fine and every periodic penalty payment that has been imposed pursuant to Articles 48f and 48g, unless such disclosure to the public would seriously jeopardise the financial markets or cause disproportionate damage to the parties involved. Such disclosure shall not contain personal data within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*57).2. Fines and periodic penalty payments imposed pursuant to Articles 48f and 48g shall be of an administrative nature. 3. Where ESMA decides not to impose any fines or penalty payments, it shall inform the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the competent authorities of the Member State concerned thereof and shall set out the reasons for its decision. 4. Fines and periodic penalty payments imposed pursuant to Articles 48f and 48g shall be enforceable. Enforcement shall be governed by the rules of procedure in force in the Member State or third country in which it is carried out. 5. The amounts of the fines and the periodic penalty payments shall be allocated to the general budget of the European Union. Section 3 - Procedures and reviewArticle 48 - i Procedural rules for taking supervisory measures and imposing fines 1. Where, in carrying out its duties under this Regulation, ESMA finds that there are serious indications of the possible existence of facts liable to constitute one or more of the infringements listed in point (a) of Article 42(1), ESMA shall appoint an independent investigation officer within ESMA to investigate the matter. The appointed officer shall not be involved or have been directly or indirectly involved in the supervision of the benchmarks to which the infringement relates and shall perform his or her functions independently from ESMA’s Board of Supervisors.2. The investigation officer referred to in paragraph 1 shall investigate the alleged infringements, take into account any comments submitted by the persons who are subject to the investigation, and shall submit a complete file with his or her findings to ESMA’s Board of Supervisors. 3. In order to carry out his or her tasks, the investigation officer shall have the power to request information in accordance with Article 48b and to conduct investigations and on-site inspections in accordance with Articles 48c and 48d. 4. Where carrying out those tasks, the investigation officer shall have access to all documents and information that have been gathered by ESMA in its supervisory activities. 5. Upon completion of his or her investigation and before submitting the file with his or her findings to ESMA’s Board of Supervisors, the investigation officer shall give the persons subject to the investigation the opportunity to be heard on the matters being investigated. The investigation officer shall base his or her findings only on facts on which the persons concerned have had the opportunity to comment. 6. The rights of the defence of the persons subject to the investigation shall be fully respected during investigations under this Article. 7. Upon submission of the file with his or her findings to ESMA’s Board of Supervisors, the investigation officer shall notify the persons who are subject to the investigation. The persons subject to the investigation shall be entitled to have access to the file, subject to the legitimate interest of other persons in the protection of their business secrets. The right of access to the file shall not extend to confidential information affecting third parties. 8. On the basis of the file containing the investigation officer’s findings and, when requested by the persons concerned, after having heard those persons in accordance with Article 48j, ESMA shall decide if one or more of the infringements listed in point (a) of Article 42(1) has been committed by the persons subject to the investigation and, in such case, shall take a supervisory measure in accordance with Article 48e and impose a fine in accordance with Article 48f. 9. The investigation officer shall not participate in the deliberations of ESMA’s Board of Supervisors or in any other way intervene in the decision-making process of ESMA’s Board of Supervisors. 10. By 1 October 2021, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 49 to specify the rules of procedure for the exercise of the power to impose fines or periodic penalty payments, including provisions on rights of defence, temporal provisions, and the collection of fines or periodic penalty payments, and the limitation periods for the imposition and enforcement of fines and periodic penalty payments. 11. ESMA shall refer matters for criminal prosecution to the relevant national authorities where, in carrying out its tasks under this Regulation, it finds that there are serious indications of the possible existence of facts liable to constitute criminal offences. In addition, ESMA shall refrain from imposing fines or periodic penalty payments where a prior acquittal or conviction arising from an identical fact or facts which are substantially the same has already acquired the force of res judicata as the result of criminal proceedings under national law. Article 48 - j Hearing of the persons subject to investigations 1. Before taking any decision pursuant to Articles 48f, 48g and 48e, ESMA shall give the persons subject to the proceedings the opportunity to be heard on its findings. ESMA shall base its decisions only on findings on which the persons subject to the proceedings have had an opportunity to comment.The first subparagraph shall not apply if urgent action pursuant to Article 48e is needed in order to prevent significant and imminent damage to the financial system. In such a case ESMA may adopt an interim decision and shall give the persons concerned the opportunity to be heard as soon as possible after taking its decision. 2. The rights of the defence of the persons subject to the proceedings shall be fully respected in the investigations. They shall be entitled to have access to ESMA’s file, subject to the legitimate interest of other persons in the protection of their business secrets. The right of access to the file shall not extend to confidential information or ESMA’s internal preparatory documents. Article 48 - k Review by the Court of Justice The Court of Justice shall have unlimited jurisdiction to review decisions whereby ESMA has imposed a fine or a periodic penalty payment. It may annul, reduce or increase the fine or periodic penalty payment imposed.Section 4 - Fees and delegationArticle 48 - l Supervisory fees 1. ESMA shall charge fees to the administrators referred to in Article 40(1), in accordance with the delegated acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article. Those fees shall fully cover ESMA’s necessary expenditure relating to the supervision of administrators and the reimbursement of any costs that the competent authorities may incur carrying out work pursuant to this Regulation in particular as a result of any delegation of tasks in accordance with Article 48m.2. The amount of an individual fee charged to an administrator shall cover all administrative costs incurred by ESMA for its activities in relation to the supervision and it shall be proportionate to the turnover of the administrator. 3. By 1 October 2021, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 49 in order to supplement this Regulation by specifying the type of fees, the matters for which fees are due, the amount of the fees and the manner in which they are to be paid. Article 48 - m Delegation of tasks by ESMA to competent authorities 1. Where necessary for the proper performance of a supervisory task, ESMA may delegate specific supervisory tasks to the competent authority of a Member State in accordance with the guidelines issued by ESMA pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1095/2010. Such specific supervisory tasks may, in particular, include the power to carry out requests for information in accordance with Article 48b and to conduct investigations and on-site inspections in accordance with Article 48c and Article 48d.By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, the authorisation of critical benchmarks shall not be delegated. 2. Prior to the delegation of a task in accordance with paragraph 1, ESMA shall consult the relevant competent authority about:
3. In accordance with the delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 48l(3), ESMA shall reimburse a competent authority for costs incurred as a result of carrying out delegated tasks. 4. ESMA shall review any delegation made in accordance with paragraph 1 at appropriate intervals. A delegation may be revoked at any time. 5. A delegation of tasks shall not affect the responsibility of ESMA nor limit ESMA’s ability to conduct and oversee the delegated activity. Article 48 - n Transition measures related to ESMA 1. All competences and duties related to the supervisory and enforcement activity regarding administrators as referred to in Article 40(1) that are conferred on competent authorities as referred to in Article 40(2) shall be terminated on 1 January 2022. Those competences and duties shall be taken-up by ESMA on the same date.2. Any files and working documents related to the supervisory and enforcement activity regarding administrators as referred to in Article 40(1), including any ongoing examinations and enforcement actions, or certified copies thereof, shall be taken over by ESMA on the date referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. However, applications for authorisation by administrators of a critical benchmark referred to in points (a) and (c) of Article 20(1) and applications for recognition in accordance with Article 32 that have been received by competent authorities before 1 October 2021 shall not be transferred to ESMA, and the decision to authorise or recognise shall be taken by the relevant competent authority. 3. Competent authorities shall ensure that any existing records and working papers, or certified copies thereof, shall be transferred to ESMA as soon as possible and in any event by 1 January 2022. Those competent authorities shall also render all necessary assistance and advice to ESMA to facilitate effective and efficient transfer and taking-up of supervisory and enforcement activity regarding administrators as referred to in Article 40(1). 4. ESMA shall act as the legal successor to the competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1 in any administrative or judicial proceedings that result from supervisory and enforcement activity pursued by those competent authorities in relation to matters that fall within the scope this Regulation. 5. Any authorisation of administrators of a critical benchmark as referred to in points (a) and (c) of Article 20(1) and recognition in accordance with Article 32 granted by a competent authority referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall remain valid after the transfer of competences to ESMA. (*57) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).’;" |
(20) | Article 49 is amended as follows:
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(21) | Article 53 is replaced as follows: ‘Article 53 ESMA reviews 1. ESMA shall seek to build a common European supervisory culture and consistent supervisory practices and ensure consistent approaches among competent authorities in relation to the application of Article 33. To that end, the endorsements authorised in accordance with Article 33 shall be reviewed by ESMA every two years. ESMA shall issue an opinion to each competent authority that has endorsed a third-country benchmark assessing how that competent authority applies the relevant requirements of Article 33 and the requirements of any relevant delegated act and regulatory or implementing technical standards based on this Regulation. 2. ESMA shall have the power to require the documented evidence from a competent authority for any of the decisions adopted in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 51(2) and Article 25(2), as well as for actions taken with regard to the enforcement of Article 24(1).’. |
Article 6 - Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2015/847
(1) | in Article 15, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following ‘1. The processing of personal data under this Regulation is subject to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*58). Personal data that is processed pursuant to this Regulation by the Commission or EBA is subject to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*59). (*58) Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (OJ L 119, 4.5.2016, p. 1)." (*59) Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).’;" |
(2) | in Article 17, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: ‘3. By 26 June 2017, Member States shall notify the rules referred to in paragraph 1 to the Commission and to the Joint Committee of the ESAs. Member States shall notify the Commission and EBA without undue delay of any subsequent amendments thereto.’; |
(3) | in Article 22, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: ‘2. Following a notification in accordance with Article 17(3), the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of Chapter IV, with particular regard to cross-border cases.’; |
(4) | Article 25 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 25 Guidelines By 26 June 2017, the ESAs shall issue guidelines addressed to the competent authorities and the payment service providers in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EU) No 1093/2010 on measures to be taken in accordance with this Regulation, in particular as regards the implementation of Articles 7, 8, 11 and 12 thereof. From 1 January 2020, EBA shall, where appropriate, issue such guidelines.’. |
Article 7 - Entry into force and entry into application
Articles 1, 2, 3 and 6 shall apply from 1 January 2020. Articles 4 and 5 shall apply from 1 January 2022.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.